Since the continuous struggle of the veterans of India, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli, the voice has been raised on the experienced players required to go back to the domestic circuit to get some rhythm and form back. None of the two players were in decent touch during the recently concluded five-match Test series against Australia down under.
The regular Test captain of India, Rohit, came into the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 with just 91 runs in six innings at an average of 15 with the help of one half-century. He missed the opening encounter against the Pat Cummins-led side in Perth before trying to find some runs in the middle order. A promotion to the top order during the fourth Boxing Day Test in Melbourne didn’t work for him, as he finished with 31 runs in five innings at an average of 6.20.
Kohli had the same issue against the spinners of New Zealand at home, finishing that series with 93 runs in six innings at 15.50 with a half-century during the second innings of the series opener at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Also Read: Brad Hogg Exposes Gautam Gambhir’s Contrasting Statements During BGT 2024-25 Fiasco
The former captain had a smooth start in the BGT with a second-innings century for India in Perth, but since then, his form again, went down as he kept on chasing the balls outside the off stump. The right-handed batter finished the series with just 190 runs in nine innings at an average of 23.75.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s position for India in discussion- reports
Recent reports have claimed that both of these two senior batters’ futures have been hanging in balance and could be decided on their performances in the Champions Trophy 2025. Both of them are towards the end of their 30s and hardly have time to get back in form.
The reports of India Today have expressed that an immediate decision to move on from them won’t be taken by the selectors, but if they fail in the Champions Trophy, then the BCCI might be forced to take a drastic decision, bringing their careers to an unceremonious end.
The discussion on the batter’s future happened in a special meeting arranged in Mumbai. The president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Roger Binny, chaired the meeting after the 3-1 series defeat to Australia. The board conducted a review session on January 11 to understand what went wrong during the series in Australia.
The meeting lasted nearly two hours and was attended by the captain Rohit Sharma, the head coach, Gautam Gambhir, the president of BCCI, the joint secretary, Devajit Saikia, and the vice-president of the BCCI Rajeev Shukla.
“The meeting was detailed, with lengthy discussions on the team’s performance, especially the batting lineup. Management wanted to understand why Indian batters, despite having a strong lineup, have not been able to perform. They also focused on identifying the core reasons and how to rectify them.” The recent report has addressed this.
Also Read: New Zealand Squad For Champions Trophy 2025 Announced; Former Leader Kane Williamson Returns
The discussions were also around Rohit and Kohli’s performance. It has also been reckoned that a few interactions were made on Virat’s position and Rohit’s leadership.
“As of now, nothing will happen, but the management is considering captaincy changes going forward after the Champions Trophy. If things do not change, steps may be taken regarding captaincy. As far as Virat is concerned, he also needs to show some runs, but I don’t see either of them being removed from the Test team as we speak. Everything depends on their performance in the Champions Trophy.” The report shed light.