Manjrekar Asks Ajit Agarkar to Drop Rohit Sharma: Former cricketer and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar asked India chief selector Ajit Agarkar to drop the skipper Rohit Sharma from the Test squad. Manjrekkar was talking after India’s loss in the 4th BGT Test against Australia.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been getting a lot of heat these days following their lackluster performance in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy and the last New Zealand series at home.
Manjrekar rubbished the comparison between Virat and Rohit as the commentator called the former ‘a great batter.’. He said that Virat deserves to get more chances due to his monumental records but opined that it might be the time for the Indian captain.
“I must say there is no comparison between Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as Test batters. Kohli is right up there. He’s a great Test batter, and Rohit is a good Test batter. Rohit’s white-ball batting is great. So, Virat 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.”
Manjrekar Asks Ajit Agarkar to Drop Rohit Sharma from Test
Manjrekar also asked the chief selector and management to take a decision about Rohit Sharma as soon as possible.
“It’s not really up to Rohit Sharma. If you look at how the protocol and the hierarchy of team selection are, the chairman of selectors 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. 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.”
‘Virat will play for 3 or 4 more years’: Ravi Shastri
Apart from Manjrekar, former India cricket coach Ravi Shastri also put forward a similar opinion. According to Shastri, Virat has three to four years of cricket left in him, but Rohit Sharma doesn’t seem like he has got it anymore.
“No, I think Virat Kohli will play,” Shastri told the broadcaster, Star Sports. “Virat will play for some time, forget the way he got out today. I think he will play for 3 or 4 more years. As far as Rohit is concerned, it’s a call. At the top of the order, his footwork isn’t the same. He is probably, at times, a little late in meeting the ball. So it’s his call at the end of the series.”
“But, having said, this Australian team wants it badly. The captain wants it badly. The determination in his eyes was evident even when he was batting yesterday. He was not going to give it away,” he added.
After winning the first Test under the leadership of Jasprit Bumrah, India lost two of the three Tests later on to trail in the series 1-2. The fifth and final BGT Test will be played from January 3 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
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