Former cricketer Mohammad Kaif has urged Indian batting stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to participate in the fifth round of the ongoing Ranji Trophy while also serving reminder of a Rishabh Pant story from the 2020/21 season.
Kaif’s suggestion came ahead of India’s upcoming five-Test tour of Australia, slated to get underway on November 22 in Perth.
India have won the last two Test series on Australian soil, while they have held onto the coveted Border-Gavaskar Trophy since March 2017. However, the situation is a lot different this time around as the Indian team will travel Down Under on the back of a first-ever 0-3 whitewash on home soil.
India lost the Test matches against New Zealand in Bengaluru, Pune and Mumbai. This outcome also marked the end of their remarkable streak of 18 consecutive home Test series victories.
Rohit and Kohli have come under severe criticism for their flop show against New Zealand. While Rohit managed to amass only 91 runs in the three-match series at an abysmal average of 15.17, Kohli returned with 93 runs at 15.50. Many experts and former players questioned their absence from the Duleep Trophy in September which was made compulsory by the selectors as a preparatory event for the long Test season ahead.
Kaif, speaking in a video posted on his social media handle, said that the duo should play for their respective domestic teams to regain form ahead of Australia tour.
“Absolutely. They need form, and they need to bat hours there. If they end up scoring a hundred, then it will benefit them immensely and serve as a morale booster,” Kaif stated.
“Let me remind you of Rishabh Pant here. He ended up scoring the winning run in Gabba, but he was neither part of the ODI nor the T20I squad in that tour. He only went for the Test series, where Wriddhiman Saha played ahead of him. But India incurred that '36 all out' and we lost the match, Pant was included. But remember, Pant had played a practice match in that tour, in a Pink Ball match supposedly, and scored a century, after which he was included in the XI so he emerged as a whole different player then,” he added.
By sharing Pant’s story, Kaif highlighted the importance of a preparatory game for the two senior batters given that India have cancelled their warm-up fixture in Australia to focus on match simulation at the WACA.
“So whoever thinks that they are struggling to score runs and did not get enough game time, they should 100 per cent play in domestic cricket. Forget that you travel in big cars and flights and that you may not get VIP treatment there. If you want to find form, you need to put in that effort.”
