- Thursday, January 09, 2025
The repeated failures of the star Indian duo in the Border-Gavaskar trophy contributed to the visitors’ series loss
By: India Weekly
FORMER India head coach Ravi Shastri wants the struggling Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to get back to playing Ranji Trophy and feels the Test future of the two superstars is dependent on the hunger to maintain their excellence in the game.
The repeated failures of the star Indian duo in the Border-Gavaskar trophy contributed to the visitors’ series loss.
India head coach Gautam Gambhir underlined the importance of domestic cricket following the loss and Shastri too feels Rohit and Kohli should return to playing Ranji Trophy even though the next series is in June.
“If there’s a gap for them, 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,” Shastri said during a conversation alongside Australian great Ricky Ponting on ICC Review.
“One you are abreast with the current generation (and) you can contribute to that younger generation with your experience. And more importantly, you get to play spin more than you will ever play.
“If you see, India’s record in 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.
Asked specifically on their Test future, Shastri added: “I would leave that on them and would be closely tracking how they fare in the upcoming games (ODIs against England, Champions Trophy).
“The hunger and desire as well is very important. One is 36 the other is 38 they would know how hungry they are. They will walk away if they think they have had enough,” added Shastri. (PTI)
