Former India coach Ravi Shastri has advised Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to return to domestic cricket to regain their form ahead of their upcoming trip to England. Shastri’s advice then reversed India’s 3-1 defeat in Australia, during which two key players struggled with their form.
Rohit Sharma opted to retire from the final Test in Sydney owing to a poor run of form, having scored only 31 runs across five innings. Meanwhile, Kohli, who opened the series with a century in India’s overpowering 295-run win in Perth, suffered a severe decline in form following that, with all of his dismissals falling from behind or in the cordon.
Shastri’s stance is congruent with head coach Gautam Gambhir’s opinion that players should be allowed to play domestic cricket if they are devoted to red-ball cricket. Gambhir underlined the significance of playing domestic cricket for players who want to rediscover their rhythm.
In an interview with the ICC Review, Shastri stressed the significance of fitness, saying, “Fitness is definitely vital. There is no substitute for experience. But, for me, current shape and fitness are equally vital.” He went on to remark, “The next six months are essential, and while there is a lot of one-day cricket, I will be intently monitoring the games, including the Champions Trophy and IPL. If there is a gap for them, I feel they should return to play domestic cricket.”
While Shastri’s strategy is reasonable, the packed cricket schedule provides Kohli and Rohit with little opportunity to play first-class cricket. The domestic white-ball season closes in the third week of January, and attention will switch to the final stages of the Ranji Trophy. Kohli and Rohit may simply play one Ranji game, commencing January 23, considering they are due to compete in India’s home ODIs against England before to the Champions Trophy.
An impossible alternative is for the two to play in the county championships throughout the English summer, but given their IPL commitments and Kohli’s planned homecoming as captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore, this scenario seems very doubtful.