NEW DELHI: The clamour of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli exiting Test cricket grew after the veteran batters endured another failure, resulting in India’s crushing 184-run loss in the Boxing Day Test against Australia at the MCG on Monday.
However, former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar voiced his support for Kohli, stating that the former Indian captain deserves a longer run in Test cricket. He also emphasised that comparisons between Rohit and Kohli are unwarranted.
“I must say there is no comparison between Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as Test batters. Virat Kohli is right up there. He’s a great Test batter, and Rohit Sharma is a good Test batter. Rohit’s white-ball batting great,” Manjrekar said on Star Sports.
“So Virat Kohli obviously deserves a longer rope. It’s not so much about Virat Kohli. I want to know what the batting coach of India is doing. We can’t solve the obvious problem of such a fine player. Enough has been said about Virat Kohli, we just have to leave him alone,” he added.
Manjrekar also remarked that Rohit old has the ability to make decisions in the best interest of Indian cricket, noting that he seems to be in the “doldrums’.
“It’s not really up to Rohit Sharma. If you look at how the protocol and the hierarchy of team selection is, the chairman of selectors, he has the decision to make. He has the power to do what’s best for Indian cricket, so it’s not so much about Rohit Sharma himself, you know, deciding what should be the future,” said Manjrekar.
“The chairman of the selector has that power. That’s with Rohit and he does look down in the doldrums. Virat Kohli is a different issue altogether,” he added.
Chasing a daunting target of 340, Rohit Sharma (9 off 40 balls) and Virat Kohli (5) struggled to overcome their technical flaws and mental hurdles, as India collapsed spectacularly, losing seven wickets for 34 runs in just 20.4 overs during the final session, eventually being bowled out for 155 in 79.1 overs.
Australia took a 2-1 advantage ahead of the fifth and final Test which is scheduled to start on January 3 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
