The Indian media has questioned the value of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in India’s batting line up as the pair struggle to find form in the Border–Gavaskar Trophy.

With Australia bowling out India to secure an 184-run victory in the fourth Test and move 2-1 up in the series, the visitors now have just one Test remaining to flip the script and retain the silverware.

After another mixed performance with the bat, there are concerns for the futures of veterans Sharma and Kohli within the Indian press pack.

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The selectors are facing a tough call with captain Sharma in real danger of being dropped for the fifth Test in Sydney.

The skipper slotted into the middle order for the second Test after missing the start of the West Test to stay in India for the birth of his second child.

He scored just 19 runs during his three innings at the crease in Adelaide and Brisbane.

The 37-year-old then returned to his usual spot at the top of the order in Melbourne but failed to recapture his form with scores of 3 and 9.

Sharma’s ability to lead the side has also come under fire after Jasprit Bumrah filled in seamlessly when India prevailed in the series opener.

Meanwhile, Kohli has also been battling at the crease in recent months.

The 36-year-old managed scores of 36 and 5 at the MCG.

Following Ravichandran Ashwin’s surprise retirement mid-series, there were reports that more players in the visiting squad could be preparing to finish up their Test careers.

Writing for the Indian Express, Sriram Veera believes the pair are at the end of the road.

“It’s no longer a case of if but when will Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma call it a day? There is the 50-over Champions Trophy in 50 days’ time; after that? Or will they announce a Test retirement first in Australia at the end of the fifth Test at Sydney or something more drastic…?” he wrote.

“An across-the-line ambitious flick and a wide chaser squeezed in pressure on the Indian team and left two-star players staring at the finish line.

“R Ashwin has already retired and left mid-series; what would his contemporaries do? Kohli, the modern-day great Test, and Rohit, a man who for a couple of years had flirted with Test stardom, but will go down as a Test batsman who never quite fulfilled the promise he had shown in his younger years. The curtain is beginning to slide down from above; will they give themselves one more Test at Sydney with BGT (Border–Gavaskar Trophy) still open and out there for the taking or …?”

Writing for the Hindustan Times, journalist R Kaushik agreed that the duo did not fit into India’s plans for the future.

“Since the start of the international home season in September, his (Sharma’s) tally is a miserable 164 from 15 innings. Simply not acceptable,” he wrote.

“If Rohit’s been terrible, Kohli has only been slightly more productive. It might be no consolation but at least with the skipper, there has been no pattern to his dismissals.

“With Kohli, the waft outside off, no feet, to widish balls has come as regularly as night following day. It’s gone beyond being a pesky problem. It’s a serious malaise with no panacea in sight. No amount of work in the nets is paying off, no adjustment to stance and feet position is fetching results. If this is not a crisis, very few others are.

“Maybe they both believe they have plenty more to offer Indian cricket, but the majority opinion is that it might not be as Test batters. Sydney could be their farewell to the five-day game, no matter what transpires there so that a new beginning can coincide with the next World Test Championship cycle and the five-Test tour of England in the summer.”

The SCG Test kicks off at 10.30am AEDT on Friday.