Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli failed to score substantial runs in last 8 Tests.
The Indian team’s poor performance in Tests in the second half of 2024 where they lost a series to New Zealand at home and to Australia down under was discussed during the performance review meeting by BCCI on Saturday.
Rohit, Gambhir, Vice-President Rajiv Shukla, BCCI President Roger Binny, Chairman of Selectors Ajit Agarkar, and Joint Secretary Devajit Saikia were present during the meeting.
India lost the ODI series against Sri Lanka, suffered a home defeat to New Zealand, and lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after ten years, thus Gautam Gambhir's coaching career has not started off well. India also failed to qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) final for the first time.
As per Dainik Jagran, all senior players are being asked to play domestic cricket by the BCCI, who has cracked the whip. The centrally contracted players can only miss out if they receive a report from the physiotherapist, it was established during the meeting.
The player must also receive approval from the chairman of the selectors Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gambhir in addition to the report. The report states that a player will be granted exemption only when Gambhir and Agarkar cite workload-related issues.
The trip to Australia was disappointing for both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Due to his dismal form—he only managed 31 runs in five innings—Rohit benched himself from the Sydney Test.
However, in Perth, Virat Kohli scored a century. But after that, the right-handed batter only scored 90 runs in 7 other innings, ending the series with 190 runs. He chased deliveries bowled outside off stump and was dismissed in the same manner.
Virat's last Ranji Trophy encounter was in 2012, three years prior, and Rohit Sharma's last Ranji match was in 2015.
As per the report, during the BCCI review meeting, the absence of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma from domestic cricket was also examined. During the discussion, even their subpar performance was brought up. In June 2025, India will play England in their next Test assignment in a five-match series.
There are many rumors regarding Rohit and Virat's future, and it is unclear if they will be included in the Test team for the England visit.