The poor batting display from the Indian top-order has been one that has been talked about since the end of the first day between India and Bangladesh in the opening Test match that took place in Chennai on Thursday.
Reflecting on the dismal batting performances from the top half, Sanjay Manjrekar has doubled down on his stance that the senior duo of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli should taken part in the ongoing domestic tournament, the Duleep Trophy.
Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, the former cricketer-turned-pundit reflected on the day’s play where he believes that the pitch was such that the initial period would be a challenging time for the hosts who were put to bat first.
Reacting to the dismissals, Manjrekar was also understanding of the fact that the conditions proved to be tricky to begin with, “When you have to bat on a pitch like this. First up, Rohit Sharma was going to bowl as well, so they all saw the pick and realised the first hour or maybe the whole session was going to be tricky. The case that it’s something you get at virtually every stadium where the first hour is challenging,” he shared.
“Rohit Sharma had his work cut out you know he was doing what he does best, to take his time. But you know two good balls in the right length got him into trouble,” he added.
The Indian captain was dismissed by Hasan Mahmud thanks to the edge which carried off to the Bangladesh skipper, Najmul Hossain Shanto at the second slip region
Speaking on Gill and Kohli’s dismissal, Manjrekar said that it is the same manner with which he has been dismissed for quite some time, once again the ace-batter was caught playing a delivery that was well outside the off-stump line.
Seeing the struggles of the senior men, Manjrekar once again reiterated his stance that the likes of Rohit and Kohli could have taken part in the Duleep Trophy to help better prepare themselves ahead of the coming Tests.
“I said a few weeks back as well that considering the amount of international matches Rohit and Virat played in the last five years, they could have been picked for the Duleep Trophy and I’m sure the time out there would have just held them at least in the first innings where they suddenly came out cold and having had to bat first,” he commented.
Kohli is playing Test cricket after his last game took place in Cape Town, South Africa in January earlier this year. Rohit on the other hand has been part of the Indian squad that claimed the series win over Englanda at home, but since then he has played the T20 World Cup and a couple of other limited over bilateral games as well.
Team India will hope that the senior pair will be able to find their groove with the bat as the coming Test matches will have a massive say in their chances of securing a third-consecutive spot in the World Test Championship where they hope to claim the title. Their tour of Australia to defend the Border-Gavaskar trophy will also be the headline event of the year where Rohit and Kohli are expected to be a part of the national team.
Comments
0 comment