He opined that they shouldn't be judged by same standards, given their Test records.
India’s two premier batters – Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have been struggling to deliver with the bat, as has been evident in their subpar performances in the ongoing Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT).
Rohit once again departed cheaply in the Boxing Day Test, managing scores of 3 and 9 while Kohli’s problem of nicking the ball outside the off-stump continued. Both players have now faced serious backlash with fans calling for an ultimatum.
Echoing on the same lines, former India cricketer turned pundit Sanjay Manjrekar however suggested that it’s unfair to judge Kohli and Rohit by the same standard, given their Test records. He gave his verdict on who should be given the ‘longer rope’ amongst India’s two top players.
Sanjay Manjrekar said on Star Sports, “I must say there is no comparison between Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as Test batters. Kohli is right up there. He’s a great Test batter, and Rohit is a good Test batter. Rohit’s white-ball batting is great. So, Virat obviously deserves a longer rope.”
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Speaking about the match, India lost the contest convincingly by a big 184-run margin although it looked like they could walk out with a draw at one time.
With the loss, India’s chances of qualifying for next year’s World Test Championship (WTC) Final has taken a big hit. They will now need to win the final game in Sydney and then hope Australia draws both their next Tests against Sri Lanka in order to secure qualification.
There have also been growing calls for Rohit Sharma to announce his retirement from the longest format and relinquish his captaincy. Sanjay Manjrekar also resonated the same, urging the management to not wait for Rohit to take a call on his future but rather to take action by themselves.
“He has the power to do what’s best for Indian cricket, so it’s not so much about Rohit Sharma himself, you know, deciding what should be the future. The chairman of the selector has that power. That’s with Rohit, and he does look down in the doldrums. Virat Kohli is a different issue altogether.”
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