Indian batting stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are currently plying their trade in the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Mumbai and Delhi, respectively.

Both of them slammed centuries without breaking a sweat in their team’s campaign opener against Sikkim and Andhra Pradesh. Kohli also scored 61-ball 77 in Delhi’s second match against Gujarat.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, former India cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra suggested that the presence of Rohit and Kohli has elevated the playing levels of the domestic one-day tournament.

“Rohit and Kohli have scored runs, and they had to score runs. One scored in Jaipur and the other in the COE (Centre of Excellence). One demolished Sikkim and the other made Andhra’s rail, which was nice to see. Suddenly, domestic cricket became a part of the conversation,” Chopra said.

“If Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma go, they are going to score a lot of runs. It’s not like they were going to struggle, and it’s not like they won’t be selected if they don’t score runs here, but the moment they go, the level gets elevated. You suddenly become a point of discussion in mainstream news, and that’s what you want,” he added.

However, Aakash Chopra also questioned the worth of runs that are being scored in the competition.

“Everyone is scoring hundreds. 400 is being chased somewhere and 560-plus is being scored somewhere else. It’s a serious question. What about the standard? So many runs have been scored. Do you actually value the runs then? If 550-plus runs are being scored and 300 runs are being chased in 30 overs, that’s not good,” he stated.

“Actually, it’s a poor reflection. It happened after the Lodha committee, when so many states were added. Teams were added, but the infrastructure and the road from bottom to top weren’t prepared. It was a flawed system. The gap is phenomenal,” Chopra further remarked.

Rohit and Kohli, who have retired from T20Is and Tests, will return to action for India in the three-ODI series against New Zealand at home next month.