Virat Kohli's future is under major doubt
Photo : AP
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Virat Kohli's future is under major doubt
- Kohli has struggeld for form in Test cricket
- Kohli is expected to play the 2025 Champions Trophy
Before the Indian team turn their attention to white-ball cricket for the ODI series against England in the 2025 Champions Trophy, The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have asked all players including Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to play in the Ranji Trophy after the team's dismal red-ball season in which they lost to New Zealand and Australia.
The 2024-25 Ranji Trophy will resume after two months from 23rd January. With the ODI series against England to only starting on 6th February, it will give India's star players ample time to play at least one match following a fortnight's rest. Most members of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) squad that are part of the ODI set-up have been rested from the team that will play the five-match T20I series against England.
As per a report by Hindustan Times, the selectors' move to ask every play domestic cricket is directed at the star batters who struggled for runs in Australia in order to ensure they can regain form and confidence.
“There’s no substitute to spending time at the crease to regain confidence. It is for the player, no matter how experienced, to realise it," a BCCI official told Hindustan Times.
All contracted players apart from fast bowlers have been asked to play in India's premier first-class competition. Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant-starrer Delhi are scheduled to play Ravindra Jadeja's Saurashtra in Rajkot while Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal could play for Mumbai against Jammu and Kashmir. Karnataka will face Punjab in Bengaluru in a match that could see KL Rahul go head-to-head against Snhubman Gill.
All eyes will be on Kohli and Rohit as the skipper and former captain have not played domestic cricket for a long time. Kohli's last appearance in a Ranji Trophy match for Delhi was in 2012 against Uttar Pradesh while Rohit has not played for Mumbai in the red-ball showpiece event since 2015.
Most of India's top stars played one match in the 2024 Duleep Trophy before the home series against Bangladesh but Rohit and Virat decided to rest in a move that has been criticised after their horrific 2024-25 season with the bat.
BCCI's Strong View On Kohli, Rohit's Future
The report also states that while Rohit's future in Test cricket is in doubt, there is belief in the BCCI that if Kohli wants to continue playing, he has to go back to the basics.
"With Kohli though, there is a strong view within the board that if he is keen to play on, he should bat with pomp like before and for that returning to the basics may be necessary," the report by Hindustan Times stated.
However, there is no 'Diktat' in place for players to play the Ranji Trophy, and if Rohit and Virat decided to skip the domestic assignment, there is no punishment in store unlike what happened to Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan last season, who were stripped of their central contracts.
The published information states that if a player decides to skip the Ranji Trophy without a justified medical or fitness reason, it could impact their selection into the Indian team in the future.
Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Cricket, Sports and around the world.
