File photo from Pakistan vs New Zealand Champions Trophy game.© AFP

Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar had a word of advice for star batter Virat Kohli, struggling with his form, saying that he should play the County Championship in the UK ahead of the Test tour of England this year and just needs to play a lot of red-ball cricket to find his groove back. Manjrekar was speaking on the Star Sports’ Deep Point podcast series. Manjrekar suggested that Kohli should consider playing a season of County cricket in England to enhance his Test game in English conditions, similar to what Cheteshwar Pujara has done.

India’s Test tour of England to kickstart the WTC 2025-27 cycle will start from June 20 onwards. In order to secure the series and give fine competition to a ‘Bazball’ powered England at their home, India will need Virat in top form.

“Kohli needs to play a lot of red-ball cricket,” Manjrekar said.

“The first Test in England is in June, while the County Championship begins in April. He could join a county team, like Pujara did, and gain valuable match practice. India can then evaluate his performance in the initial Test matches. If there are positive signs, he can continue. But the last thing you want is Kohli going there and struggling, as we have seen before. That would not be good for Indian cricket. Playing County cricket could be a very sensible move for him,” he added.

Also, Sanjay Bangar, who has spent a lot of time with Virat as a coach in India and RCB set-ups, is optimistic about Virat’s future, backing him to play few more years due to his fine fitness.

“I am still backing him. Even at 36 (years old), he is as fit as ever. His fitness levels are remarkable, and I believe he can continue playing at the highest level,” said Bangar.

Playing in domestic or country cricket could help Virat overcome his form slump and declining stats across all formats last year, especially in Tests.

In 10 Tests last year, he scored just 417 runs at an average of 24.52 with just one century and fifty, to conclude a disappointing year. Across all international cricket last year, Kohli made just 655 runs at an average of 21.83, with just a century and two half-centuries in 32 innings.

Virat ended the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle with 751 runs in 14 matches and 25 innings at an average of 32.65, with two centuries and three fifties. His best score was 121.

In 39 Test matches since the start of 2020, Virat has scored just 2,028 runs at an average of 30.72, with just three centuries and nine fifties to show for. His best score is 186.

Cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar was amazed by the aggression shown by the Indian team and especially stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah on Day 1 of the final Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The atmosphere flared up when a heated altercation between Bumrah and young Sam Konstas unfolded towards the final moments of Day 1. The expressions on Bumrah’s face clearly indicated he wasn’t pleased with whatever Konstas had said to him while standing at the non-striker’s end.

On the next delivery after the fiery exchange, Bumrah gave a fitting reply to the young Australian. He put Usman Khawaja in an awkward stance to lure out a thick outside edge, with KL Rahul taking a sharp catch at the second slip.

The entire team celebrated in front of Konstas, with stalwart Virat Kohli being the most animated among all the Indian players. Bumrah initially charged and then slowed down while staring at Konstas, who walked away to avoid the Indian’s gaze.

“Yeah, they’re all fired up, and it’s great to see, right at the end of a long series, this kind of emotion. I mean, Bumrah has been phenomenal, and ‘great’ doesn’t seem to be enough to describe his performance as a bowler. To see him fired up in this fashion is quite rare. Sam Konstas–there’s something about him that gets under the skin of the Indian players. You saw Virat Kohli in the background as well, really fired up,” Manjrekar said on Star Sports.

While the Indian team celebrated with jubilation, Prasidh Krishna was seen staring back at Konstas. KL Rahul and Washington Sundar were among those who stayed calm as the day ended on a spicy note.

“If Bumrah is like this, you know it’s something special. But all in all, you’ve got to applaud the cricketers for having this kind of energy at the end of a long series. Shubman Gill is fired up, and in contrast, it’s good to have someone like Washington Sundar and KL Rahul being calm and calculated. That was fun to see, especially as it was backed up by some high-quality cricket,” he added.

The tangy taste of rivalry between India and Australia is expected to continue on Day 2, with the hosts set to resume their innings at 9/1, trailing by 176 runs.

File photo of Virat Kohli.© AFP

Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar criticised skipper Rohit Sharma’s decision to open following poor outings in the middle order, saying that one of the biggest issues with Indian cricket is how every attempt is made to ensure that big-time players come back into the form. After poor outings in the series at number six, in which he scored just 19 runs in three innings, Rohit returned to his usual opening spot and this made KL Rahul, the in-form opener in this series, slide down to number three. However, Rohit’s stay at the crease was short-lived as he fell to Cummins due to a poor shot.

Speaking during the commentary as quoted by Wisden, Manjrekar said, “An issue which is deeply connected with the Indian cricket culture Mark, is that….all those iconic players in India, struggling for runs, and then we go out of the way to make sure that he comes back into form.”

“We make all kinds of adjustments to give the best kind of platform or opportunity for the iconic players. A situation where KL Rahul has been the best opener for both sides, the most consistent batter for India – he is being displaced from his position, batting at No.3, so that Rohit Sharma is given an opportunity to get into form.”

Manjrekar said that considering the move from cricketing logic and things what are best for the team, it was not best for the team.

“KL Rahul has been so good at that position. It’s not easy opening in Australia. Jaiswal and KL Rahul had a record partnership for India in Australia, but India quite happy to break that partnership to allow a big-name player to succeed,” he added.

Sanjay said that while Jaiswal and Rohit have had fine partnerships at the top, but they came on Indian pitches.

“In Australia when you have found an opener who has looked the part, pushing him down to number 3 to get a woefully out of form big-name player to open I thought was just a poor call,” he added.

Fellow commentator Mark Nicholas also agreed that the Indian culture of celebrating individual stars over the game has some disadvantages.

“When they are (captains) out of form, it is what creates a problem and other players end up as the sacrificial lambs for it. It is a pity. In terms of India and celebrities, no doubt, it’s amazing how the game is celebrated in India. But in many ways, it is celebrated because of its players more than because of the art of the game. The players become as big as Bollywood stars.. it is a wonderful place to be if you love cricket. To be in a country that loves cricket as much as India does is a privilege, but it is not always leading to the right decision-making,” he added.

File photo of Travis Head (left) and Jasprit Bumrah.© AFP