Sanjay Manjrekar, the former Indian cricketer-cum-commentator, has given his piece of mind regarding Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, as the two megastar cricketing giants failed to impress in the first Test between India and Bangladesh in Chennai. Rohit scored just 6 and 5 runs, while Kohli scored 6 and 17 as India won a convincing 280-run victory over the Bangla Tigers. Manjrekar pointed out that neither played the Duleep Trophy that preceded the series and that BCCI has given them “special treatment.”
Manjrekar spoke of his apprehensions about the aftermath of this decision.
“I don’t have a problem with their selection because that’s not the issue, but they would have benefitted from some red-ball cricket,”
He said.
He also said that it was an avenue to draft them into the Duleep Trophy at one time, but nobody did so, adding that all players need to be treated in the same respect for the interest of Indian cricket.
“Virat and Rohit not playing in the Duleep Trophy was damaging, both for the team and the players themselves. Had they participated, their form might have been different.”
Manjrekar, however, is hopeful of the duo making amends in the second and final Test starting in Kanpur on September 27. He said,
“They have the class and experience to make a comeback later in the series, and I don’t see their current form as a permanent issue.”
He, however, warned that undue favoritism shown to certain players because of their stature has been a malady Indian cricket has suffered from for a long time, and it does more harm than good to them.
While most of the Test-bound players featured in the first-round action of the Duleep Trophy ahead of the Bangladesh series, both Rohit and Kohli were rested, which has meant that neither has had any competitive play during India’s 42-day break since the white-ball tour of Sri Lanka. While Kohli played a Test last in early 2024, his last home Test was in February 2023. With the final Test beckoning, all eyes again will be trained on Rohit and Kohli as India pursue a 2-0 series victory.
