India skipper Rohit Sharma on Wednesday (January 24) hinted that the Test careers of senior batters such as Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane might not see a revival.
On the eve of the first Test against England in Hyderabad, Rohit addressed a press conference, where he emphasized the need to provide more opportunities to younger players.
Despite Virat Kohli withdrawing his name from the squad for the first two Tests due to personal reasons, the Indian team management and selectors overlooked Pujara or Rahane, suggesting that they won’t take a backstep.
Instead, the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee picked Madhya Pradesh batter Rajat Patidar as Kohli’s replacement.
"Leaving out an experienced player or not considering them is very hard. The amount of runs they've scored, the kind of experience they've had, the amount of games they have won for us, you know, it's very hard to ignore all of that," Rohit told reporters.
While Rohit acknowledged that the doors to the Indian team were not closed for anyone, he highlighted the importance of giving opportunities to younger players, especially in favorable conditions.
"But, you know, you sometimes have to bring certain players into your set-up as well. You have to give them favourable conditions as you don't want to expose them on foreign doors, where they've not played before. So, I think it's important that we try and get some of these youngsters an opportunity,” the Indian captain added.
"By no means, the doors are closed for anyone, you know, as long as they stay fit and keep scoring runs. Anyone will be welcomed back into the setup," he further stated.
On a separate note, Rohit Sharma acknowledged the difficulty in picking the third spinner between Akshar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav but hinted that the former might just have made the final cut.
Besides R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, the hosts are likely to go with a third spinner during the Test series against England at home.
"If the wicket has bounce or if it doesn't have bounce, he (Kuldeep) still is a factor in those types of conditions because he's got superb variations. Obviously, he is a very mature bowler now from what he was a few years back," Rohit said in the pre-match presser.
"He's not played a lot of Test cricket in India because of Ashwin and Jadeja. We've seen it in the past as well. With our middle-order (batting), in the past, a lot of us (batters) got an opportunity pretty late.
"But that's the reality of it, you can't hide away from it. But yes, he's a very tempting option," he remarked.
Although Rohit did not unveil the final XI, he emphasized the utility of Akshar Patel as an all-rounder.
"Akshar, you know, with his all-round ability, gives us that batting depth. The consistency that he's shown, playing in these conditions in Test cricket, also is an important factor for us.
"But it was a headache to decide who it is going to be for us. But I am not going to say who it is," said Rohit.
(With PTI Inputs)
