Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s collective failure as batters and leaders during the three-match Test series against New Zealand took the fans’ anger to stratospheric heights. So much so that the pillars of India’s batting line-up, feared and respected by one and all in world cricket, were ordered to ‘retire’ from Test cricket with immediate effect. Rohit scored 91 runs in the three matches at an average of 15.16. His highest score was 52. Kohli, on the other hand, managed just 93 runs in as many matches at an average of 15.50. Take out his 70-run knock in the second innings in Pune, Kohli accumulated 23 runs in the rest of the five innings in the series.
Rohit and Kohli’s dismal form reflected in India’s poor batting performance in the three Tests. Barring the second innings in Pune, where Sarfaraz Khan and Rishabh Pant stitched a record partnership to power India’s total over 450, India crossed the 200-run mark only once twice in the rest of the series. They were bowled out for 46 – their lowest-ever at home – in the first innings of the Bengaluru Test.
Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja were the only Indian batters that scored consistently in the series but the contribution from the others was so minimal that India crashed to their first-ever whitewash at home (in a series consisting of at least three Tests) at home.
Rohit agreed that he was not up to the mark both as captain and as an opener. He was dismissed by pacers on spin-friendly tracks, and the shot he played in the second innings in Mumbai to throw his wicket away even before the spinners came on to bowl, raised quite a few eyebrows.
Kohli was no better. His shortcomings against left-arm spinners were laid bare like never before. Mitchell Santner and Ajaz Patel caught him off guard, beating him on both the inside and outside edges.
The sudden downfall of Rohit and Kohli was a bit too much for the fans to handle. Generally, the ones busy debating the ‘best batter’ between Kohli and Rohit, demanded their retirement.
There’s a strong likelihood that the upcoming five-match Test series against Australia may mark the last for at least two of the four senior players: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, and Ravichandran Ashwin, who are nearing the end of their international careers, reported news agency PTI.
An informal discussion could take place between BCCI bigwigs and chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar, head coach Gautam Gambhir, and skipper Rohit about the way forward for an ageing team.
“Stocks will be taken certainly and it could be of informal nature since the team leaves for Australia on November 10. But this has been a huge debacle but, with Australia series round the corner and the squad already announced, there won’t be any tinkering,” a senior BCCI source told PTI on the condition of anonymity.
