Legendary Kapil Dev has raised questions on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s Ranji Trophy participation after a long gap. After India suffered a 3-1 series loss against Australia, the veteran duo was forced to take part in the Ranji Trophy by the BCCI.
While Kohli had last played in the Ranji Trophy in 2012, Rohit had played for Mumbai in 2015. Kohli could only manage six runs in the first innings against Railways at Delhi whereas Rohit returned with scores of 3 and 28 in the clash against Jammu and Kashmir.
Dev feels the talismanic duo might not have played in the domestic circuit if India had won the Border-Gavaskar series against Australia.
Kapil Dev said on YouTube Channel Cricket Adda, “If you are talking about Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, playing Ranji Trophy after 12 years…how is that right? It does not look good at all. It’s not because they did not perform. Whether they score runs or not, you have to score runs in domestic cricket. So yes, certain strong measures have to be taken.”
The World Cup-winning captain highlighted that India’s domestic cricket system should stay strong and equal for everyone.
“But my point is, had we won or had Rohit or Kohli scored runs, would they have played Ranji Trophy? Don’t look at the performances, make the system strong. Whether you score zero or lakhs of runs, play cricket by staying within the system.”
The former all-rounder also spoke on BCCI’s new rule of restricting family time on foreign tours. Dev said the families should not be allowed on foreign tours in the first 20 days of a one-month tour.
“Taking your wives on tours is not wrong, but I feel that if the tour is one month, they should not be allowed for the first 20 days so that the players can play together as a team. Similarly, for a three-month campaign, at least for a month players should be left alone with the team. Also team should travel together, this is not an individual sport,” said Kapil.
India will next take part in the Champions Trophy.
