Sanjay Manjrekar, former India cricketer and a veteran broadcaster, has expressed his disappointment in providing special treatment to Indian superstars, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
Sanjay Manjrekar, former India cricketer and a veteran broadcaster, has expressed his disappointment in providing special treatment to Indian superstars, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Pointing out their absence from the first round of the Duleep Trophy, Manjrekar said it would have been better had the duo played some red-ball cricket ahead of the Test season.
“They would have been better off had they played some red-ball cricket, and there was the option of picking them in the Duleep Trophy. So, one has to be careful about treating certain players differently; do what’s best for Indian cricket and what’s best for players. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli not playing wasn’t good for Indian cricket nor was it good for the two players as we found out. I’m sure had they played the Duleep Trophy and had some time in the middle against red-ball cricket, things would have been slightly different.”
Manjrekar has also backed the duo to find form in the remaining series. However, he feels providing special treatment to big players eventually hurts players more than anyone else.
“But they had the experience, the class to come into form. I don’t see them, you know, for that reason not being in form at all for the rest of the series. They’ll find ways to get runs. But it’s something one must make a quiet note of, and that has been the problem with Indian cricket where certain players get picked out for special treatment because of the status that they have reached, which actually then in the end hurts that icon more than anyone else.”
‘Special treatment ends up hurting the icon the most’
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— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) September 26, 2024
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were among the worst performers in the first Test against Bangladesh in Chennai. Rohit could only assemble 11 runs in the game, registering scores of 6 and 5 in both innings.
Meanwhile, Kohli scored 23 runs in both digs, making 6 and 17 in the first and second innings, respectively. They were the two lowest run-scorers in the game for India.
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It’s worth noting Rohit and Kohli were the only two players missing in the first round of the Duleep Trophy when every other player featured for different teams. Jay Shah stated the board didn’t feel the need to include them in this tournament, for it would increase their workload and risk of getting injured.
The two will look to improve in the second Test and put on a statement ahead of the big series against New Zealand and Australia. The final game of the Bangladesh series starts tomorrow in Kanpur.
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