Sanjay Manjrekar sensationally tells BCCI to kick aside Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma's stature

Former India National Cricket Team player Sanjay Manjrekar came up with a massive suggestion for BCCI related to Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. He said that the governing body shouldn't rest already well-rested players just because they are the big names in Indian cricket.

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have come under massive scanner following their poor performances in the Test series against the New Zealand National Cricket Team. Questions have been raised over them not playing the Duleep Trophy ahead of the home Test season.

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli ahead of the Test series against Bangladesh played SL ODIs

Rohit and Kohli, ahead of the Test series against Bangladesh, played in the ODI series against Sri Lanka and then they played the Tests directly. While the majority of the players featured in the Duleep Trophy, the duo didn't, as they were rested.

Some reports emerged that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli denied playing in the Duleep Trophy, citing a “lack of motivation”. It is learned that BCCI had mentioned after the T20 World Cup 2024 that all the players should be available for the domestic games.

Kohli and Sharma reportedly initially agreed, and it was expected that they would play at least one game. But in the last minute, top players later decided to withdraw their names and head into the Test series against Bangladesh and New Zealand without practice.

The lack of practice was quite evident as both Rohit and Kohli struggled during the Test series against Bangladesh and New Zealand. This saw them facing a lot of flak and even questions have been there related to their place.

Their performances went unnoticed in the Bangladesh series as the team won the series, but they both came under scanner after the New Zealand series. This was because the India National Cricket Team went on to lose the series by the margin of 3-0 and also lost crucial World Test Championship points.

The big learning for the selectors from this home season is that do not rest the already well-rested players - Sanjay Manjrekar

With India facing a loss in the Test series against New Zealand, Sanjay Manjrekar believes that the biggest learning for selectors after this home season is not to rest big names. He added that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli would've benefitted by playing Duleep Trophy. Taking to his Twitter account, he explained:

"The big learning for the selectors from this home season is that do not rest the already well-rested players because of their stature; I say this again: both Rohit & Virat would only have benefited from playing the Duleep Trophy start of the season."

The big learning for the selectors from this home season is that do not rest the already well rested players because of their stature.

I say this again, both Rohit & Virat would only have benefited from playing the Duleep Trophy start of the season.

— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) November 5, 2024

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli would be keen to make an impact in Australia

In the six innings against New Zealand, Virat Kohli averaged 15.50 and tallied just 93 runs, while Rohit mustered 91 runs at 15.16. Overall in the home season, they amassed 192 and 133 runs, respectively, over the 5 games.

With India now set to take on Australia in five-match Test series both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli would be keen to make an impact. The series will be extremely important for them in the context of their future in the Test team.

Also Read: Sunil Gavaskar accuses Rohit Sharma of ending the careers of 2 Indian legends