Virat Kohli scored 23 runs in the first Test. ©BCCI
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma could have benefitted from playing Duleep Trophy – Sanjay Manjrekar
Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar feels India missed a trick by not allowing star duo Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli feature in the Duleep Trophy.
Neither Virat nor Rohit succeeded in registering a big score in the two innings during India’s comfortable 280-run win over Bangladesh last week, prompting suggestions that they shouldn’t have missed the Duleep Trophy.
Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, and Ravindra Jadeja were among the top performers in the series opener but the performance of stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma left much to desire.
Manjrekar, sharing his rather blunt assessment of the situation, hit out at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for treating players differently, based upon their stature and reputation.
“I’m not worried, but I’m sure somebody made a note of the fact that they would have been better off had they played some red-ball cricket,” Manjrekar told ESPNCricinfo.
“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’s 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. But they have the class and experience to make a comeback later in the series, and I don’t see them, for that reason, not being in form.
“But something that one must make a quiet note of, and that has been a problem with Indian cricket for a long time now, is that certain players get picked out for special treatment because of their status, which eventually hurts that player more than anyone else.”
The second Test between India and Bangladesh will kick-off in Kanpur on Friday.
