'Get back to the high standards...': Sunil Gavaskar questions Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma missing Duleep Trophy

BCCI recently announced four squads for the upcoming Duleep Trophy. The forthcoming domestic tournament will feature KL Rahul,Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Rishabh Pant, Suryakumar Yadav, etc., however, the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah have not been included. While Bumrah's omission is justified as the selectors want the pacer to manage his workload, many have questioned Kohli and Rohit's absence, given there is a long red-ball season that awaits India with the Bangladesh, New Zealand, and Australia series.

Thus, former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar isn't impressed. The veteran explained how it is essential for batters to play even during international breaks and a prolonged gap can dent them, especially in the 'mid-thirties'.

In his column for Mid-Day, Gavaskar wrote, "The selectors have not picked the skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli for the Duleep Trophy so they will most likely go into the Bangladesh Test series without much match practice."

'When there’s a longgap,muscle memory weakens and getting back to high standards....'

He added, "While it’s understandable that somebody like Jasprit Bumrah with his delicate back needs to be handled with care, the batters could have done with some batting time out in the middle. Once a player hits the mid-thirties in any sport, then regular competition will help him maintain the high standards he has set. When there’s a longish gap then the muscle memory weakens somewhat and to get back to the high standards from earlier is not easy."

Earlier, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah justified Rohit and Kohli's absence and statedthat they don’t want them to pick up injuries while playing domestic cricket.

He told TOI,"It doesn’t make sense to add to Virat and Rohit’s load by asking them to play domestic cricket. They run the risk of getting injured."

Post the Duleep Trophy, India will start their home season with two Tests versus Bangladesh. The first Test will get underway onSep19 in Chennai.