New Delhi: The Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel reportedly wanted senior Indian players to play in the Duleep Trophy and get some much-needed match practice ahead of the Test season. However, the senior players refused to take part in the domestic red-ball tournament. The likes of skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli had been asked to play in the Duleep Trophy but the senior batters were not interested.
Kohli and Rohit were slammed by many as their dismal run continued in India’s second innings of the 3rd and final Test in Mumbai. Rohit was dismissed cheaply on 11 while Kohli could only manage 1 run as India failed to chase down the target of 147 runs to suffer a crushing 25-run defeat in the third Test and a 3-0 whitewash in the three-match Test series against the Kiwis.
In what was the lowest of lows for the Indian team, the hosts suffered their first-ever whitewash at home in a three-match Test series. New Zealand comfortably brought an end to India’s long-standing home dominance in Tests with their first-ever Test series win on Indian soil, ending the hosts’ unbeaten streak of 18 Test series at home.
Many believed the lack of adequate match practice was one of the major reasons behind the Indian batters’ failure in the Test series against New Zealand. The legendary Sunil Gavaskar argued Kohli and Rohit should have played in the Duleep Trophy to get some red-ball match practice behind their back ahead of the Test season.
Now a report in the Indian Express has claimed the selectors wanted the senior players to take part in the Duleep Trophy. However, they refused citing “lack of motivation”. A number of Indian regulars, including the likes of Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Axar Patel and Rishabh Pant among others featured in the first round of the Duleep Trophy.
However, seniors like Rohit, Kohli, R Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah were absent from the tournament. As per the report, sources revealed that Kohli, Rohit and other senior players had initially given their nod to play in the domestic red-ball tournament before deciding to withdraw their names. They entered the Bangladesh Test series at home directly without any red-ball practice.
Ravindra Jadeja was ready to play in the Duleep Trophy
As per the report, star all-rounder Jadeja was the only senior player ready to play in the Duleep Trophy till the end. However, the selectors decided to release him after the likes of Rohit, Kohli, Ashwin and Bumrah refused to take part in the tournament.
While Rohit and Kohli struggled continuously in the three-match Test series against the Kiwis, the likes of Pant, Gill and Sarfaraz had at least one good knock to show for. Kohli finished the series with 93 runs from six innings while Rohit could only score 91 runs. The duo is being heavily criticised for their performances with many even asking them to consider retirement from the longest format.
