Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma hit the ground running upon their return to domestic cricket, scoring centuries in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Representing their respective domestic teams, Delhi and Mumbai, both batsmen were smooth and assured, putting any talk about form or age to rest.
Rohit smashed a scorching 155 off just 94 deliveries as Mumbai cruised to an eight-wicket victory over Sikkim, while Kohli followed it up with a dominant 131 off 101 balls to propel Delhi past Andhra Pradesh's 298 with four wickets remaining.
Harbhajan Singh, a veteran Indian spinner, lauded Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for participating in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, emphasizing how important their presence is for domestic cricket.
He underlined how big a learning experience it is for their teammates as they share dressing rooms with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
“It’s good to see, really good to see, that big players are also turning up for tournaments like these. When you go and play alongside domestic players, obviously, it boosts their confidence as well. Kohli going into Delhi’s dressing room is obviously a big, big learning experience for all those kids sitting there. It’s a huge lesson for them to see what Kohli does," Harbhajan said on his YouTube channel.
"Similarly, Rohit Sharma has gone into Mumbai’s dressing room. Although Mumbai has always been a very big team and has won a lot, I still feel that Kohli playing and Rohit playing are, in themselves, very big things," he added.
Harbhajan Singh also reacted to both Kohli and Rohit hitting centuries. He stated that scoring big runs in domestic cricket is crucial for veteran cricketers.
“And both of them are scoring runs, which is a good sign. It doesn’t matter who you are playing against, but what matters are the conditions on the ground. This isn’t net practice. Scoring a hundred here is a big deal in itself. It becomes a habit, a good habit. When you know how to score runs, when you know how to make hundreds, that’s a good habit to have. It doesn’t matter whether you are playing domestic cricket, international cricket, or even fewer matches, because that same thing is what you carry forward. And for them today, this is a really big thing," he concluded.
Virat Kohli is likely to be in action when Delhi next faces Gujarat on December 26 in Bengaluru. On the other hand, Rohit Sharma is set to feature for Mumbai when they take on Uttarakhand on December 26 in Jaipur.
