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India vs Australia 2nd ODI: Former India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin was not left happy with the immense focus on Virat Kohli in the ongoing three-match ODI series against Australia. Virat has had disappointing outings with the bat in the first two matches as he is yet to open the scoring.

Virat was dismissed for 0, and his rare twin failure with the bat in the ODIs led to a massive debate around his future in the format. The ongoing series marked the return of Virat and former skipper Rohit Sharma to international cricket after a few months. After the completion of the Adelaide ODI, Ashwin posted a cryptic picture, which was the logo of the famous sportswear brand Nike.

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Ashwin's post said 'Just Leave It', making fans wonder if the message was for Kohli. But a user also pointed out that the message can also be related to the famous leave from Ashwin in the group-stage game of the 2022 T20 World Cup against, when Mohammad Nawaz bowled a wide, which he cleverly left to level the scores.

The veteran spinner went on to analyse Virat's dismissal and came up with his take on the senior batter's gesture while heading back to the pavilion. "Xavier Bartlett bowled two outswingers and then straightened the line to trap Virat Kohli LBW and dismiss him. Now, this is a genuine pattern of dismissal for Rohit Sharma. You will always get to see this (in case of Rohit), whether it be against Kagiso Rabada in South Africa or even against Pat Cummins in Australia. The way Virat got out to the ball that came back in, he actually missed the line," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

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"I saw during the innings break, Abhishek Nayar talking about how that was a great ball. What Abhi ( Abhishek Nayar) said was perfect, but Virat actually missed the line of the ball. If we see it again, Virat actually planted his foot in line with the ball, so that is probably telling me a story that Virat needs more time in the middle to probably get his rhythm going," Ashwin explained.

Backing the star batter ahead of the final ODI in Sydney, which is scheduled to be played on Saturday, Ashwin expressed confidence that Kohli would bounce back.

"Fortunately for Rohit, he got a little bit of luck and capitalised on that to make a score. But come Sydney, there is no reason why Virat should not make runs. I think he would be thinking deeply about how he got out in these last two games. It's not going to be easy, but I really hope Virat comes out of this," he said.

"I don't think he should read too much into all this 'Farewell at Adelaide' or 'Farewell at Melbourne' talk. How many matches will you get outside India in one place? I'm sure he has got happy memories in Adelaide, but I don't think he's thinking that it's my last game at this venue and all that. That shouldn't be running in his head," Ashwin added.

India went on to suffer a 2-wicket defeat in the second ODI and have already lost the three-match series, going 0-2 down.

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