Melbourne, Jan 6 India head coach Gautam Gambhir said on Sunday that struggling stars Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli “still have the hunger to excel” but urged all senior players, including the duo, to play domestic games and show their “commitment” towards red-ball cricket.
Known for his plain speak, the two-time World Cup hero also didn’t give any assurances on whether Rohit or Kohli will be a part of the Test set-up moving forward.
“It’s not the right moment right now for me to talk about where we are going to be after five months. A lot of things change in sport. Forms change, people change, attitude changes, everything changes in sport. And we all know that five months is a long time,” Gambhir said at the post-series press conference.
“So let’s see before the England series (in July) what’s going to happen. But whatever will happen, will happen for the best interest of Indian cricket,” asserted the former opener.
Rohit scored 31 runs in five innings before dropping himself from the playing eleven and Kohli managed 190 in nine knocks, including a second innings century after India had taken a lead of more than 300. A glaring failure for Kohli was his inability to avoid being dismissed on deliveries that were bowled outside the off stump.
Asked if he would like the seniors to play at least one round, if not two, of Ranji Trophy starting January 23, Gambhir sent across a clear message.
“I would always like everyone to play domestic cricket. That is how much importance domestic cricket needs to be given. Not only one game, if they are available and they have the commitment to play red-ball cricket, everyone should play domestic cricket,” Gambhir said.
“As simple as it can get. If you don’t give importance to domestic cricket, you will never get the desired players that you want in Test cricket,” he explained.
Kohli last played a Ranji Trophy match in 2012 while Rohit’s most recent domestic red-ball game was in the 2015-16 season.
The tough-talking former player refused to be drawn into a discussion on the much-speculated future of Kohli and Rohit, insisting that they are the best judge when it comes to analysing their role in Indian cricket.
“See, I can’t talk about the future of any player, it’s up to them as well. But yes, what I can say is that they still have the hunger, they still have the passion, they’re tough people and hopefully they can continue to take Indian cricket forward,” he said.