Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma featured in the first Test against Bangladesh in Chennai, but their poor form has garnered a lot of criticism. BCCI has also been questioned about the “preferential treatment” provided to these players.
Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma’s Poor Form Continues
Contrary to their teammates, Rohit and Kohli, with Jasprit Bumrah, were also overlooked for the Duleep Trophy-pre-tournament to acclimatise the players for the series. Both Bumrah, who was on a break since India’s triumph in T20 World Cup in June.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have struggled with poor form. Rohit made only 11, while Kohli just made 23 runs.
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In the recent India vs Bangladesh, Rohit Sharma led team won by 280 runs, the win was stitched by Ravichandran Ashwin’s masterclass bowling and centuries from him, Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant.
Sanjay Manjrekar On ‘Special Treatment’ Given To Rohit-Kohli By BCCI
Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has told ESPNcricinfo that these players should have been playing in the Duleep Trophy. He is surely looking forward to a second Test in Kanpur, so that more of the most experienced players can continue to regain their form. But he sounded a strict note of warning to the selectors not to give “special treatment” to any cricketers because that would harm Indian cricket as much as the players themselves in the long run.
“I’m not worried, but I’m sure somebody made a note of the fact that they would have been better off had they played some red-ball cricket. There was the option of picking them in the Duleep Trophy. So one has to be careful about treating certain players differently and do what’s best for Indian cricket and for the player. Virat and Rohit not playing (Duleep Trophy) was not good for Indian cricket, nor was it good for the two players. Had they played the Duleep Trophy and had some time in the red-ball cricket, things would have been different. But they have the class and experience to make a comeback later in the series, and I don’t see them, for that reason, not being in form. But something that one must make a quiet note of, and that has been a problem with Indian cricket for a long time now, is that certain players get picked out for special treatment because of their status, which eventually hurts that player more than anyone else.” said Manjrekar
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Virat Kohli’s Dip In Test Form
Virat Kohli’s career average had hit an eight-year low of 48.74 after he could only manage to score 81 runs. In home Tests since 2022, Kohli has tallied 401 runs across seven matches, scoring only one hundred: 186 against Australia last year. In Asia, Kohli has tallied merely 654 runs in 23 innings since 2021, including just one hundred and two fifties at an average of 29.72.
