India’s former left-handed all-rounder, Irfan Pathan, has requested the senior batters continue appearing for the domestic games in the future. All the superstars of Indian cricket, including Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, turned up for their respective teams in the last two rounds of the Ranji Trophy 2024-25.
The decision from the veterans came after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) made it mandatory for the players to turn up for the domestic games due to the national selection. The form of these players has been underwhelming since the three-match home Test series against New Zealand.
Virat Kohli managed just 93 runs in six innings against the Kiwis at an average of 15.50 with the help of one half-century, which came during the second innings of the series opener at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Rohit also struggled against the spinners and pacers with just 91 runs in six innings at an average of around 15, celebrating a solitary fifty.
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The Nagpur-born was absent in the first Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25, which India went on to win by 295 runs at the Optus Stadium in Perth. But since his arrival down under, nothing has worked in his favor. The right-hander batter had a horrible time in the series with just 31 runs in five innings at an average of 6.20, thanks to the best score of ten.
“Hope the current Indian regulars make it a trend to play domestic cricket”- Irfan Pathan
Kohli drilled a century in the second innings of the first Test for India, as the expectations grew for the fans. But he kept on struggling for the last four games, getting just 190 runs in nine innings at an average of 23.75. His overall record was quite poor last year in the longest format.
Both of them returned to the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 after a long gap. Rohit decided to feature in the sixth round of the tournament for Mumbai against Jammu and Kashmir. He couldn’t find the expected form at all with the bat. In the first innings, he was dismissed on a low score but showed his aggressive batting to excite the fans at the Sharad Pawar BKC ground. Both he and Yashasvi Jaiswal struggled for the runs during Mumbai’s defeat in the encounter.
Virat Kohli was absent in the last fixture due to the neck injury that he picked in the last BGT Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground. However, he marked his most awaited return for Delhi after nearly 12 years against Railways.
Alongside these two veterans of India, Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja were also engaged in the Delhi vs Saurashtra encounter last week at the Niranjan Shah Stadium. Even though the former didn’t enjoy his time with the bat against the spinners, Jadeja celebrated 12 wickets in the game.
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On the other hand, India’s current Test opener, KL Rahul, is playing for Karnataka against Haryana in the seventh round of the event in Bengaluru. The former left-arm pace bowling all-rounder Irfan Pathan has been delighted with the presence of these senior batters in domestic cricket.
The renowned commentator reckoned that it would be a great opportunity for the youngsters to learn from these players. He hopes to see the trend following in the future.
“It’s great to see youngsters playing with or against players like Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma in domestic cricket. It wasn’t happening for many years, but it’s happening now. This is fantastic for Indian cricket. Hope the current Indian regulars make it a trend to play domestic cricket.” Pathan wrote on ‘X’ (formerly known as Twitter).