Former Team India head coach Ravi Shastri feels that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma should return to domestic cricket to regain their form. The recent loss in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy has attracted significant criticism for both players, as neither was able to score substantial runs.
Rohit Sharma accumulated just 31 runs across five innings, while Virat Kohli scored 190 runs in nine innings, despite hitting a century in the series opener in Perth. Their poor performances were key factors in India’s struggle to consistently surpass 200 runs.
Rohit struggled with multiple ways of getting out, and his form was so disappointing that the Indian captain chose to “step down” from the series decider in Sydney, allowing Jasprit Bumrah to take over as the leader.
Meanwhile, Virat Kohli was dismissed in a similar manner, getting out eight times while attempting to play wide deliveries.
“If there’s a gap for them, I think they should go back and play some domestic cricket and see how it is. Because when you play Test match cricket for that length of time, it’s important to play domestic cricket for two reasons: You’re abreast with the current generation (and) you can contribute to that younger generation with your experience,” Shastri told ICC Review.
“And more importantly, you get to play spin more than you will ever play. So if you see India as recorded, India on turning tracks is not the greatest. If you have quality spinners in the opposition, they can trouble you. And they have troubled India,” he added.
The next phase of the Ranji Trophy starts on January 23, and it remains to be seen if Rohit and Kohli will make themselves available to play for Mumbai and Delhi, respectively.
It’s Drive And Ambition
Ravi Shastri believes Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s success depends on their hunger and suggests domestic cricket can improve their spin play. India’s losses to New Zealand and Australia cost them a WTC qualification for the first time.
“They might have been lucky to get over a couple of series, but you saw how New Zealand exposed them before coming to Australia. So I would leave it on that,” Shastri said.
“And plus, it’s the hunger and desire. When you’re in your 30s, one is 36, the other is 38. They would know how hungry they are,” he added.
Shastri believes Virat Kohli still has a role to play in Indian cricket by mentoring and guiding young players.
“So I think the contributing factor to this team is transition and the youngsters coming through the ranks. If you look at Jaiswal, he’s 23. You look at Shubham Gill is 22, 23 [25 years]. Nitish Reddy is 21,” said Shastri.
“There are a lot of players. Rishabh Pant, he is still very young. He is 25 or 26. [27 years]. So there are a lot of guys there who can benefit from the experience of a player of Virat Kohli’s calibre,” he added.
Get the latest cricket news here, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more such updates.
