Sunil Gavaskar believes Indian captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli should have played in the first round matches of the Duleep Trophy 2024 before the two-Test series against Bangladesh starting on September 19.

The names of many players were included in the four teams announced for the first round of matches starting on September 5, but these two star batsmen have not been included. The reason given is that Kohli and Rohit were given the option to play, but the two senior experienced cricketers decided not to participate in it.

Jai Shah had said-

“We should not put pressure on players like Rohit and Virat to play in the Duleep Trophy. This will put them at risk of getting injured. If you have noticed, not every international player plays domestic cricket in Australia and England. We should treat the players with respect.”

Sunil Gavaskar is not convinced with Jay Shah’s words

However, former India great Sunil Gavaskar believes that Jasprit Bumrah is justified to be rested, but Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma should have played. He says that Rohit and Virat are getting older.

They need to play as much as possible to stay in form. There are no more ODIs this year and both of them have retired from T20, so they needed preparation in the Duleep Trophy.

“The selectors have not picked captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli for the Duleep Trophy, so they will probably go into the Bangladesh Test series without much practice,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-Day.

He further added, “While it is understandable that a player like Jasprit Bumrah needs to be handled with care with his delicate back, batsmen need to bat for some time in the middle.”

“Once a player reaches the age of 30-plus in any sport, regular competition will help him maintain the high standards he has set. When there is a long gap the muscle memory weakens to some extent and it is not easy to get back to the earlier high standards.”