Karsan Ghavri questioned struggling Virat Kohli's regular selection in the Indian team.
Former Indian all-rounder Karsan Ghavri has lashed out at the Indian team management for giving unnecessary breaks to senior players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Rohit and Kohli, along with Jasprit Bumrah, were already rested for the South Africa series and then the current Indian skipper missed the rescheduled Test against England due to COVID-19, while the former skipper was rested for the opening match of the T20I series on July 7. They have now also been rested for the upcoming one-day series against the West Indies in late July, thanks to a workload management policy.
After Shikhar Dhawan was named India captain for the ODI series against West Indies, Ghavri questioned the team management’s decision to rest Kohli and Rohit and asked them how many breaks they needed while slamming them for having time to shoot advertisements but being tired for the national duties.
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Karsan Ghavri told Sportskeeda: “How much rest do Virat and Rohit need? How long did Virat bat in the Test match? Playing for India should be their number one priority. You should shoot for advertisements during the IPL, not while playing for India. You cannot ask for frequent breaks in the name of workload management.”
He added, “Why did they send Rohit Sharma to England)? He didn’t play the Test and will only play limited-overs matches. Does he still need another break? He has rested enough.”
Speaking on Kohli's poor form, the former all-rounder said that the players’ selection should be done purely on the basis of merit, as the former skipper is getting opportunities without scoring valuable runs.
Ghavri further explained, “Players should be selected on merit. Virat has made India proud on many occasions, but drop him if he’s not in form. It’s as simple as that. Bring in the guys who are in form. Virat Kohli is a big name, but where are the runs?”
He signed off by saying, “How long can you play based on your past reputation? He’s still stuck on 27 Test centuries. Meanwhile, Joe Root has now surpassed him despite lagging behind until recently.”