Manjrekar believes that if both the star players had played some red ball cricket before the first Test against Bangladesh, things could have been different for them.
Former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar believes that not selecting Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for the Duleep Trophy was not the right decision. Manjrekar believes that if both the star players had played some red ball cricket before the first Test against Bangladesh, things could have been different for them.
India defeated Bangladesh by 280 runs
Notably, in the first Test played at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, India defeated Bangladesh by 280 runs. However, both captain Rohit and senior batsman Kohli performed poorly with the bat. Rohit was dismissed for 6 and 5 runs, while Kohli scored 6 and 17 runs.
So, while discussing the performance of the Indian pair in a video on ESPNcricinfo, Manjrekar said that they made a big mistake by not selecting Rohit and Kohli for the Duleep Trophy.
Kohli and Rohit made a mistake by not playing Duleep Trophy: Sanjay Manjrekar
“I am not worried, but I am sure someone would have noticed that their performance could have been better if they played red ball cricket. They had the option of choosing the Duleep Trophy,” he said.
He further added, “So we should have avoided special treatment with some players. They should have looked at the best option for Indian cricket and the player. Virat and Rohit not playing the Duleep Trophy was not good for Indian cricket. Nor was it good for both the players. If they had played the Duleep Trophy and spent some time in red ball cricket, things would have been different.”
Rohit and Kohli will be in action in the second Test match against Bangladesh starting Friday, September 27 at Green Park in Kanpur. If we look at the performance of Rohit and Kohli in the current World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, Rohit has scored 711 runs in 18 innings at an average of 41.82, which includes three centuries and as many half-centuries. Kohli has scored 392 runs in eight innings at an average of 49, which includes one century and two half-centuries.
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