All-time greats Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have been rested from the upcoming Duleep Trophy. The modern maestro alone are the only two batters who are mainstays in the Test team who aren’t playing the first-class domestic tournament. KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Rishabh Pant are all playing. The only ones who’ve rested are two of India’s best players, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah, both of whom are injury-prone.
Raina joins bandwagon
Former Indian cricketer Suresh Raina feels that Rohit-Kohli should have played in the Duleep Trophy. He isn’t the first ex-cricketer to voice this opinion. Two Mumbai greats, Sanjay Manjrekar and Sunil Gavaskar, also shared the same view as Raina. Gavaskar felt they would be going in without practice, while Manjrekar thought that they were already well rested.
“Yes, they should’ve played; you see, we haven’t played red-ball cricket ever since the IPL ended. Since we’re heading towards a crucial Test series, one must play 4-day cricket and get used to how the wicket will behave on Day 4. I think they’re mature enough when they will regroup for 4-5 days and start practicing. Sometimes, family time is also important,” Suresh Raina told Sports Tak.
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Why aren’t Kohli-Rohit playing?
BCCI Secretary Jay Shah was asked why the senior statesmen weren’t playing in the Duleep Trophy. He simply answered that Kohli and Rohit aren’t young anymore and increasing their load could risk the chances of an injury. With two home Test series (Bangladesh and New Zealand) and one away (Australia) coming up, it isn’t wise to risk chances of them missing either one, especially the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Duleep Trophy Schedule
| Date | Team 1 | Team 2 | Venue | Time (AM) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 5-8 | Team A | Team B | M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru | 9:30 |
| Sept 5-8 | Team C | Team D | RDT Stadium A, Anantpur | 9:30 |
| Sept 12-15 | Team A | Team D | RDT Stadium A, Anantpur | 9:30 |
| Sept 12-15 | Team B | Team C | RDT Stadium B, Anantpur | 9:30 |
| Sept 19-22 | Team B | Team D | RDT Stadium B, Anantpur | 9:30 |
| Sept 19-22 | Team A | Team C | RDT Stadium A, Anantpur | 9:30 |
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