Gautam Gambhir’s coaching tenure has not gotten off to an ideal start as India have already lost the ODI series against Sri Lanka, suffered a whitewash against New Zealand at home and lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after 10 years. Rohit Sharma and co won’t be playing the World Test Championship (WTC) final for the first time.
Amid all these results, the performance of the senior men’s side was reviewed in Mumbai at the BCCI headquarters on Saturday. The meeting was attended by Rohit, Gambhir, chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar, BCCI president Roger Binny, Vice-President Rajiv Shukla, and Joint Secretary Devjit Saikia.
According to a report in Dainik Jagran, the BCCI has cracked the whip, asking all senior players to participate in domestic cricket. During the meeting, it was decided that centrally contracted players can only miss out if they get a report from the physio.
Along with the report, the player will also have to get the nod from head coach Gambhir and chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar.
The report states that a player will be granted exemption only when Gambhir and Agarkar cite workload-related issues.
Rohit and Virat discussed during the meeting
Both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli had a disappointing tour of Australia. Rohit stood down from Sydney owing to poor form, scoring just 31 runs in five innings.
On the other hand, Virat Kohli hit a century in Perth. Despite this, the right-handed batter managed just 190 runs in 9 innings. His dismissals were the same as he chased deliveries bowled outside off stump.
Rohit Sharma last played a Ranji Trophy match in 2015, while Virat’s last Ranji match came three years earlier in 2012.
As per the report in Dainik Jagran, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s absence from domestic cricket was also discussed during the review meeting conducted by the BCCI.
Even their poor form was raised during the meeting. India’s next Test assignment is against England in June 2025.
Speculations are rife about Rohit and Virat’s future, and whether the duo will make the Test squad for the tour of England remains to be seen.