Sanjay Manjrekar: Rohit, Virat not playing Duleep Trophy, not good for Indian cricket

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli during the practice session in Chepauk. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar said that star batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli not featuring in the recently concluded Duleep Trophy was not good for Indian cricket and for themselves.

The Duleep Trophy concluded with India A winning the title. Various Indian international stars like Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Axar Patel, and Kuldeep Yadav, played in the tournament. However, Rohit and Virat did not feature in the games.

When India played Bangladesh in the first Test at Chennai, which marked Rohit’s first Test in five months and Virat’s first in eight months, the ring rust in both players was evident as they failed to muster big scores in the match.

Rohit scored five and six in both innings and Virat made poor scores of six and 17 across the innings. Speaking on ESPNCricinfo, Manjrekar said, “I am not worried, but I am 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 is 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,” he added.

Manjrekar, however, backed both the stars to make a big comeback in the second Test. “They have the class and experience to make a comeback later in the series, and I do not see them, for that reason, not being in form,” he said.

India won the first Test by 280 runs, setting 515 runs to chase for Bangladesh and skittling them out for 234. Ravichandran Ashwin (113 and 6/88), Shubman Gill (119*), Rishabh Pant (109) and Jasprit Bumrah (4/50 and 1/24) starred in India’s victory.

The Indian team has decided to retain the same squad for the second Test, scheduled to start in Kanpur on September 27.