Former Pakistan cricketer Rashid Latif criticised the decision to target Indian veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli over their red-ball form, suggesting that they are being forced to play domestic cricket ahead of important white-ball fixtures.
Rohit, the India Test and ODI captain, appeared for Mumbai in their Ranji Trophy match against Jammu & Kashmir, scoring three and 28 runs.
Meanwhile, Kohli is set to join Delhi’s squad for their match against Railways at Arun Jaitley Stadium starting January 30.
Aside from the star duo, several members of India’s Test squad, which suffered a 1-3 loss in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, are also playing in the latest round of Ranji Trophy matches. Notable players include Yashasvi Jaiswal (Mumbai), Rishabh Pant (Delhi), Ravindra Jadeja (Saurashtra), and Shubman Gill (Punjab).
Latif expressed that Rohit and Kohli should focus on their upcoming white-ball assignments against England and next month’s Champions Trophy in Dubai. He pointed out that due to the packed international calendar, players rarely have time for domestic cricket.
Latif also noted that the star duo had played two World Cup finals in the past two years without featuring in domestic competitions.
“There is no time for players to play domestic cricket due to the packed international calendar. If needed they should play domestic cricket but due to the targeting of Rohit (Sharma) and Virat (Kohli), they’re forcing everyone to play domestic cricket. In the past, barring Sachin Tendulkar, others have not played much domestic cricket… Rohit and Virat have won the T20 World Cup and reached the final of the ODI World Cup without playing domestic cricket. They will next play the ODI series against England so they should prepare for it as white-ball is a totally different game,” Latif said.
Rohit and Kohli will be seen in the three-match ODI series against England starting on February 6.