India’s 0-3 drubbing against New Zealand has not gone down well in the cricketing fraternity. Former players, pundits and analysts have criticized the team heavily. This was the first-ever time that India were whitewashed in a Test series (of three or more games) at home.
Earlier in the year, the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) made it almost compulsory for national cricketers to play domestic cricket if there were no international commitments. That was the reason why the likes of Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan did not get annual contracts. However, the top players skipped the start of the 2024-25 domestic season.
The likes of skipper Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja among others did not participate in the Duleep Trophy before the start of the home Test season. According to the latest reports, the reason cited was ‘lack of motivation’.
Sanjay Manjrekar expressed his frustration around the same issue. He felt that the big names were well rested and they should not be rested just for the sake of it. The former India cricketer believes that playing the Duleep Trophy would’ve only helped the likes of Rohit and Kohli.
Between the T20 World Cup final which was played on the 29th of June and the start of the home Test season in Chennai which was on the 19th of September, Kohli and Rohit only played three ODIs in Sri Lanka in early August. Hence, some game time would’ve benefitted the experienced duo.
“The big learning for the selectors from this home season is that do not rest the already well rested players because of their stature. I say this again, both Rohit & Virat would only have benefited from playing the Duleep Trophy start of the season,” Sanjay Manjrekar’s post on ‘X’ read.
Kohli and Rohit’s poor Test returns
Rohit and Kohli had poor returns throughout the home season. The Indian captain got just 133 runs in 10 innings. Meanwhile, Kohli made 192 runs in the same number of outings. Both batters have not had great returns in Test cricket in 2024. Rohit averages 29.40 after 11 Tests this year (588 runs with two hundreds) while Kohli has made just 250 runs in 12 innings with just one fifty to his name.
India’s next assignment is the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia which starts on the 22nd of November in Perth. Both Rohit and Kohli will be key to India’s chances.
