Ex-India selector orders Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma to stop hiding behind BCCI after NZ disaster

Former India National Cricket Team selector Sunil Joshi has launched a fresh attack on Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and other Indian players after the disastrous Test series loss against New Zealand National Cricket Team on home soil.

Sunil Joshi has slammed Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli for lack of responsibility and ordered them to stop hiding behind the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Indian batters were horrible in the New Zealand Test series

Team India batters failed miserably in the three-match Test series against the New Zealand National Cricket Team at home, and they struggled both against pace and spin bowling.

They started off the series in Bengaluru with a humiliating 46 all-out as the Kiwi pacers absolutely destroyed the batting unit. Then, in the last two matches in Pune and Mumbai, the spinners Mitchell Santner and Ajaz Patel broke the back of Rohit Sharma & Co.

The senior cricketers, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, took no responsibility, and their failure put the rest of the batters under more pressure. In six innings, Rohit Sharma scored 91 runs at an average of 15.16 and a best of 52 while Virat Kohli scored 93 runs at an average of 15.50 and a best of 70.

The duo were heavily criticized for skipping the Duleep Trophy before the home Test season, with many experts claiming that participation in domestic cricket would have prepared the batters to deal with the spin challenge quite well.

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"Let's not put everything on the BCCI" - Sunil

In an interaction with TOI, Sunil Joshi urged everyone not to blame BCCI for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli missing domestic matches and said that it was the responsibility of the duo to play the Duleep Trophy ahead of the Test season.

"Let's not put everything on the BCCI. It's individual responsibility as well. That's what I want to stress more on. You know that you are going to play three Test matches, it's going to be on turners, or it's going to be on slow wickets.

"So from the white-ball format, (there's need to) go back to Ranji Trophy and play (to get match-ready for the red-ball international season). For everything, the blame can't be put on the BCCI. The players' responsibility is also there. Players need to take initiative, and should say, 'Boss, I will go and play Ranji Trophy, I will go and play Duleep Trophy," he said.

"If XYZ or our top players do not get runs..." - Sunil Joshi's dig at Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli

Sunil Joshi further said that the only way for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to improve their game against spin is to go back to grinding in domestic cricket. The former India selector bluntly said that 'nobody is bigger than the game' and asked the players to prioritize the Ranji Trophy.

"If XYZ or our top players do not get runs against spin bowling, what is the way to (improve)? They need to go back and play spin.

"So why can't they go back and play domestic cricket? All these players have played Ranji Trophy and then only went on to play Test cricket...It's not a hard and fast rule; but I think given the circumstances and given the scenarios of WTC, our top players, top six for that matter, should have played one or two (domestic) games prior to the Test series...Nobody is bigger than the game. Everyone faces ups and downs in their career," he added.