Ravi Shastri's strong advice to Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli after lacklustre show in Border-Gavaskar Trophy
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli came under heavy criticism due to the failure to deliver their best in the five-match Test series against Australia, where India failed to defend the BGT title after a 1-3 defeat to the hosts.
FollowFormer India captain and head coach Ravi Shastri strongly advised two batting stalwarts of Indian cricket, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli following their lacklustre performances in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Rohit and Virat came under heavy criticism due to the failure to deliver their best in the five-match Test series against Australia, where India failed to defend the BGT title after a 1-3 defeat to the hosts. The duo's under-par performance with the bat affected the team's overall ability to consistently post competitive totals throughout the series.
Rohit Sharma managed to score only 31 runs at an abysmal average of 6.2 in five innings, while Virat Kohli aggregated 190 runs at an average of 23.75. After scoring a century in the second innings of the Perth opener, Kohli failed to perform consistently as his scores read 7, 11, 3, 36, 5, 17, and 6. Rohit decided to 'stand down' from the Test series decider in Sydney and handed over captaincy to Jasprit Bumrah. Kohli, on the other hand, was dismissed off-stump delivery in eight innings of the BGT series.
Speaking to ICC Review, Ravi Shastri believes that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli should go back and play domestic cricket in order to find form.
"If there's a gap for them, I think they should go back and play some domestic cricket and see how it is. Because when you play Test match cricket for that length of time, it's important to play domestic cricket for two reasons: You're abreast with the current generation (and) you can contribute to that younger generation with your experience." Ex-India head coach said.
Virat Kohli last played domestic cricket in 2012, representing his state team Delhi against Uttar Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy. While Rohit Sharma's last domestic appearance was in 2016 during the Duleep Trophy match for India Blue.
Shastri added that players will play more spin on Indian domestic circuit than in overseas Tests.
"And more importantly, you get to play spin more than you will ever play. So if you see India as recorded, India on turning tracks is not the greatest. If you have quality spinners in the opposition, they can trouble you. And they have troubled India," he added.
With the second round of Ranji Trophy is set to begin on 23rd January, it remains to be seen whether Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will go back and play domestic cricket. India head coach Gautam Gambhir told his players to go and play domestic cricket.
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