New Delhi: As they are in their advanced ages, India skipper Rohit Sharma and star batter Virat Kohli needed match practice in Duleep Trophy before resuming international duty in the Bangladesh series, Sunil Gavaskar has said.
The Duleep Trophy matches will be held from September 5 before the Bangladesh series but Rohit, Virat, all-rounder Hardik Pandya and pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami were excluded from the list of players from which four teams for the Duleep Trophy were chosen.
Bumrah has been granted extended break to nurse his troublesome back while Shami is recovering from an ankle injury that has kept him out for months.
Pandya has preferred to focus on white-ball cricket pwiningthi his injury proneness and hasn’t played red-ball cricket since December 2018.
But Rohit and Virat has simply been given rest as BCCI secretary Jay Shah clarified that they weren’t risked to avoid any potential injuries keeping in mind important assignments including a five-match away Test series in Australia.
“It doesn’t make sense to add to Virat and Rohit’s load by asking them to play domestic cricket. They run the risk of getting injured,” Shah has been quoted as saying by The Times of India.
Rohit, Virat needs more game time
But former captain Sunil Gavaskar has argued that both needed greater game time than an extended break to remain in shape.
“The selectors have not picked the skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli for the Duleep Trophy so they will most likely go into the Bangladesh Test series without much match practice,” Gavaskar wrote a column for The Mid-Day.
“While it’s understandable that somebody like Jasprit Bumrah with his delicate back needs to be handled with care, the batters could have done with some batting time out in the middle.
“Once a player hits the mid-thirties in any sport, then regular competition will help him maintain the high standards he has set. When there’s a longish gap then the muscle memory weakens somewhat and to get back to the high standards from earlier is not easy,” he added.
The Duleep Trophy matches will be held from September 5 but Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya and pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami were excluded from the tournament. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
