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Following the disappointing returns with the bat for India captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli during the first Test of the two-match series against Bangladesh, Sanjay Manjrekar, the former Indian cricketer, criticised the BCCI for giving “special treatment” to two of the stalwarts of the national team. The 59-year-old spoke about how Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli not taking part in the Duleep Trophy, unlike many of their teammates, wasn’t good for them or Indian cricket, in terms of their performance in the first Test last week.
Notably, at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, Rohit Sharma was nicked off twice by the Bangladesh fast bowlers for scores of 6 and 5 in the first and second innings respectively. Meanwhile, Virat Kohli lost his wicket in the first innings for six runs after slashing at a wide one from Hasan Mahmud, while he failed to take the DRS in the second innings despite nicking the ball onto his pads, walking back to the pavilion instead lbw for 17 off 37.
There was the option of picking them in the Duleep Trophy: Sanjay Manjrekar on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli
During his exclusive chat with ESPNcricinfo, Sanjay Manjrekar remarked that the Indian selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, and the BCCI officials, had the option of having Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli play in the Duleep Trophy earlier this month. He was quoted as saying, “I'm not worried, but I'm sure somebody made a note of the fact that they would have been better off had they played some red-ball cricket. There was the option of picking them in the Duleep Trophy. So one has to be careful about treating certain players differently and do what's best for Indian cricket and for the player.”
The Mangalore-born cricketer believed that if Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli played in the Duleep Trophy, their performance would have been different in the first Test against Bangladesh in Chennai. He said, “Virat and Rohit not playing (Duleep Trophy) was not good for Indian cricket, nor was it good for the two players. Had they played the Duleep Trophy and had some time in the red-ball cricket, things would have been different. But they have the class and experience to make a comeback later in the series, and I don't see them, for that reason, not being in form.”
Sanjay Manjrekar also wanted to remind everyone about certain cricketers getting “special treatment” from BCCI isn’t a new thing, which is actually a detriment for the said player. “But something that one must make a quiet note of, and that has been a problem with Indian cricket for a long time now, is that certain players get picked out for special treatment because of their status, which eventually hurts that player more than anyone else,” he concluded.
