"Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma should've played Duleep trophy"- Ex India teammate's Manjrekar-like attack

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have decided to skip the Suleep Trophy 2024 domestic season. The two senior cricketers played the T20 World Cup followed by the ODI series against Sri Lanka.

Now with the domestic season starting next month, Kohli and Rohit have decided to skip the season and make a return in the home Test season starting with the Test series against Bangladesh from September 19 in Chennai.

Several Indian cricketers like Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, and Ruturaj Gaikwad are participating in the tournament.

Speaking to Sports Tak, Raina said that Kohli and Rohit should have played in the tournament but as experienced players they know what to do, and giving family time is important as well.

However, he also emphasized that playing in this domestic tournament would have helped their preparations for the home season.

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They Should Have Played: Suresh Raina On Virat Kohli Rohit Sharma Skipping Duleep Trophy 2024

"They should have played. We have not played any red-ball cricket after the IPL. If you are going for a big series, you need to play red-ball cricket. I think they are all mature enough and they know how they need to practice once they regroup. Sometimes family time is very important."

Speaking about Rohit and Virat Kohli both are crucial to India's success in Australia. They are the two more senior batsmen in the team with the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane no longer part of the Test team.

Both were crucial members of India's last tour to Australia India won the Test series under Rahane after Virat Kohli had to return home after the first Test due to the birth of his daughter.

The two will be very crucial for India in the upcoming series and will need to bat very well.

He further went on to speak about MS Dhoni and his future in the IPL. He said that he would like to see Dhoni play in IPL 2025. There are talks about MS Dhoni making a comeback in the IOPL as an uncapped player.

The BCCI is also looking for the possibility to mold the IPL rules and bring back a rule into action that was banned in the 2021 season for MS Dhoni's comeback.

"I want MS Dhoni to play in IPL 2025, considering how he batted last year. I feel Ruturaj Gaikwad needs one more year, the way he captained, and a lot of things were said after the loss to RCB. However, Ruturaj has done a great job and led the team really well and batted well too" Raina said.

With Fans expecting Dhoni to bat higher up, he batted at number seven or eight in most of the games he played. He scored 161 runs from 73 balls at a strike rate touching close to 200.

Meanwhile, MS Dhoni's IPL 2025 participation still hangs in the balance as he said that he will reveal his decision depending on the retention rules of the mega auction.

The BCCI has said that they will announce the new rules by the end of August 2024 after the meeting held between the IPL team owners and the BCCI on July 31.

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