‘Once a player hits mid-thirties…’: Sunil Gavaskar questions absence of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli from Duleep Trophy

Legendary Sunil Gavaskar questioned the absence of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli from Duleep trophy squads. Earlier the veteran duo was reported to be picked for the Duleep trophy but they were selected by the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel.

While Rohit last played in the Duleep trophy back in 2016, Kohli hasn’t played any domestic cricket since 2012. Recently BCCI secretary Jay Shah said they want to manage the workload of the talismanic duo as they have been continuously playing at the top level.

“It doesn’t make sense to add to Virat and Rohit’s load by asking them to play domestic cricket. They run the risk of getting injured,” Shah had told The Times of India.

However, Gavaskar believes it is important for players, who are in mid thirties, to have game time under their belt. Rohit and Virat were both part of the ODI squad for the three-match series against Sri Lanka.

“The selectors have not picked the skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli for the Duleep Trophy so they will most likely go into the Bangladesh Test series without much match practice,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for the mid-day.

“While it’s understandable that somebody like Jasprit Bumrah with his delicate back needs to be handled with care, the batters could have done with some batting time out in the middle. Once a player hits the mid-thirties in any sport, then regular competition will help him maintain the high standards he has set. When there’s a longish gap then the muscle memory weakens somewhat and to get back to the high standards from earlier is not easy,” he added.

The pair will be in action in the upcoming two-match Test series against Bangladesh, with the first Test to be played from September 19.