The disappointing run of India’s batting icons Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the two Tests against New Zealand has the fans worried ahead of the tour of Australia.
India’s batting hasn’t lived up to its high standards, leading to two consecutive defeats. It has, thus, given the Kiwis a historic series-clinching 2-0 lead, with one Test left to play.
Kohli, who has been struggling in Test cricket in the last 2-3 years, has scored just 88 runs in four innings — 70 of which came in one innings alone. Rohit, who opens the batting for India, has scored a mere 62 runs, which includes a knock of 52.
The inconsistent form and their exemption from the season opening domestic red-ball tournament, Duleep Trophy, earlier has led to fans asking why the two greats can’t make themselves available to play domestic cricket in preparation for an international season.
India swept Bangladesh 2-0 in a home Test series before welcoming New Zealand, who registered wins in Bengaluru and Pune.
Leading the noise opposing Kohli and Rohit’s absence from the domestic circuit, former India spinner and selector Sunil Joshi has highlighted the importance of domestic cricket and the top Indian cricketers’ inavailability for their state teams while off national duty.
“We have forgotten how to plan spin,” said Joshi while talking on a Star Sports show. “If our spinners can script victories at home, our batters should learn how to play spin. When will we see our top-order batters go back to play domestic cricket? If you don’t play domestic cricket, you won’t be able to play spinners. Back in the day, every big player would go back to domestic cricket, play a few matches and then go for Test cricket. Why can’t our top-order players do that? Playing domestic cricket is not easy. It’s a challenge in itself.”
Meanwhile, a comparison statistic on the last Ranji Trophy appearance for Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar has gone viral on social media.
Tendulkar’s last Ranji appearance for India came in 2013. He retired from international cricket in the same year. Meanwhile, Kohli last played in the elite red-ball tournament in 2012. For Rohit, it was in the 2015-16 domestic season.
That has led to fans questioning if Tendulkar can play in the Ranji Trophy at 40 years old (in 2013), why can’t Kohli and Rohit?