Indian cricket fans have the fondest memories of the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. It was on this basis that the Indian team won the World Cup on April 2, 2011, ending a 28-year drought. But who would have thought that 13 years and seven months after winning the World Cup, the Indian team would encounter the worst moment on this land. When the losing streak started in Bengaluru and ended in Mumbai via Pune, no one believed it for a moment. The way New Zealand swept India 3-0 in the Test match made it clear that India’s impenetrable fortress has now been razed to the ground.
In the absence of a star batsman like Kane Williamson, New Zealand has done something that no other team has been able to do in the past 24 years. New Zealand became the first team to whitewash India in a home Test match since 2000. This shows how bad the Indian team is going through now. The defeat not only marked the end for India but also the dominance of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Rohit and Kohli are not in good form at home
Barring Rishabh Pant, all Indian batsmen performed poorly against New Zealand. Pant is the only Indian batsman to cross the 200-run mark in 6 innings in 3 games. But you will be surprised to know that captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, the most dangerous batsmen in the world, cannot even reach the 100-run figure. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has scored more runs than both batsmen. Yashasvi Jaiswal alone has scored more runs than Kohli and Rohit combined. In this series, those responsible for scoring have become a liability on the team. The results are before us all.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli
The BCCI has been pushing for its players to participate in domestic cricket for some time now. Virat and Rohit were also asked to play in domestic cricket ahead of the Test match against New Zealand, but to no avail. That’s why both players were playing against New Zealand’s fast bowling in the first Test match and then against the spin attack in the last two games.
It’s not very old. Before the series against New Zealand, India played Bangladesh in September. Looking at the way India swept through Bangladesh in this series, the Indian cricket team’s time had come but in the following series, the secrets of the team were exposed. Surprisingly, Rohit and Virat struggled even against a weak Test team like Bangladesh. While Virat Kohli could not score more than 99 runs in 4 innings, Rohit’s total score in two Test matches could not even come close to 50 runs. The result of Virat and Rohit’s two consecutive series defeats is before us all but the question again arises whether the BCCI and the team management will learn from this defeat or is it just because of Rohit? Te and Virat are big names and will be eliminated. It will continue like this.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli
Until last month, the Indian team seemed to have easily secured a ticket to the World Test Tournament, the WTC final. New Zealand will come to India and return home after losing the series. But at home, the situation has reversed. 3 test matches changed the entire equation of WTC. The Indian team lost the first place crown and the road to the final became very difficult. Now India has to get a ticket to the final from Australia’s Kangaroos, which doesn’t seem easy considering the form of Kohli and Virat. Many cricket experts do not shy away from considering the Border-Gavaskar series in Australia from November 22 as the last Test series for Rohit and Virat. While nothing can be revealed yet, it is believed that the BCCI can drop some big hints on the futures of Rohit and Virat after the Australia tour.
Virat Kohli
In fact, both cricket stars have crossed the age of 35. It is known that increasing age will also affect performance. This has happened to experienced cricketers in the past as well. Cricket king Sachin Tendulkar also admitted that after a certain age, the body slows down and its reactions become slower. Rohit Sharma turned 37 this month and Virat Kohli turned 36 this month. Both cricketers have reached the age where most cricketers start planning for retirement. In this case, the question arises whether Virat and Rohit will start planning for retirement soon or the BCCI will be forced to take drastic measures.
There is no doubt that anyone can easily replace Rohit and Virat in the Indian team. However, steps must be taken in this direction soon so that a strong Indian team can be prepared in the coming years. If we talk about the contenders to replace Rohit and Virat, the names of Sai Sudarshan, Devdutt Padikkal and Rajat Patidar are leading the race. All three players have impressed with their domestic cricket bats.
Rohit Sharma
Sai Sudarshan and Devdutt Padikkal have proven their talent in IPL and domestic cricket and are currently on tour of Australia with the India-A team. Both batsmen have a huge hunger for runs and we saw an example of this in the first unofficial Test match against Australia. In the second innings of this match, the big innings came with the bat of Sudarshan and Padikkal. Sai Sudarshan hit a brilliant century while Devdutt Padikkal scored an innings of 88 runs. Although their innings could not save the team from defeat, they proved that both left-handed batsmen have the skills and hunger for runs required in long-form cricket.
Sai Sudarshan, Devdutt Padikkal and Rajat Patidar
Many qualities of Virat and Rohit also match the game of both batsmen. Rajat Patidar has also scored over 4500 runs in first-class cricket at an average of 43. It follows that many players are lining up to carry on the legacy of Virat and Rohit, but what awaits is how and when the BCCI will decide on India captain Rohit Sharma after the Border-Gavaskar Trophy And Virat Kohli’s future. yes. However, it seems too far-fetched to say anything now.
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