Sanjay Manjrekar, former India cricketer, has once again reiterated his statement that senior India batters should’ve played in the Duleep Trophy after Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma fell for 6 runs each in India’s 1st innings of the first Test against Bangladesh in Chennai.
After being asked to bat first by Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto, India's top-order was rattled by Hasan Mahmud as he dismissed Rohit and Kohli for 6, and Shubman Gill for a duck. He added the scalp of Rishabh Pant as well, who added 62 runs with Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Only a 199-run partnership by R Ashwin (113) and Ravindra Jadeja (86) took India from 144/6 to 376 runs.
Reflecting on the poor batting performances from the top half, Sanjay Manjrekar has reiterated his belief that the senior tandem of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli should compete in the upcoming local tournament, the Duleep Trophy.
Manjrekar reflected on the day's play, stating that the pitch was such that the opening period would be difficult for the hosts, who were put to bat first.
“When you have to bat on a pitch like this. First up, Rohit Sharma was going to bowl as well, so they all saw the pick and realized the first hour, or maybe the whole session was going to be tricky. The case it’s something you get at virtually every stadium where the first hour is challenging.
Rohit Sharma had his work cut out you know he was doing what he does best, to take his time. But you know two good balls in the right length got him into trouble,” Manjrekar said on ESPNCricinfo.
Speaking about Gill and Kohli's dismissal, Manjrekar stated that it was the same method in which he had been dismissed for quite some time, as the ace-batter was caught playing a delivery that went well outside the off-stump line.
Manjrekar emphasized that Rohit and Kohli should have participated in the Duleep Trophy to better prepare for the next Tests.
“I said a few weeks back as well that considering the number of international matches Rohit and Virat played in the last five years, they could have been picked for the Duleep Trophy and I’m sure the time out there would have just held them at least in the first innings where they suddenly came out cold and having had to bat first,” he commented.
Kohli is now playing Test cricket after his last game in Cape Town, South Africa, in January of this year. Rohit, on the other hand, was a member of the Indian squad that won the home series against England, although he has since featured in the T20 World Cup and a few other limited-overs bilateral games.
