Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar advised Rohit Sharma to play in the Ranji Trophy (India’s red-ball domestic competition) as the batter struggles with the bat. Rohit opted not to play in the Sydney Test after a poor run of form saw him make way for Shubman Gill in the Playing XI. However, Gavaskar has now backed his follow Mumbaikar to play in the domestic competition and regain his spot for the England series despite rumours that he will announce his retirement from the game. 

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Gavaskar advices Rohit

“Well, there are not much of four-day games that are available, but if there are some like the Ranji Trophy, if Mumbai do qualify for the knockout stages, he should be looking to play some matches,” Gavaskar told India Today.

“I know it's a little bit unfair on some of the boys who've been playing in the initial and qualifying stages to make way for him. But in the larger interest of Indian cricket, I think if there is a spot for him to play, he should be doing that because that's the one way that he will be giving himself time out in the middle,” Gavaskar said.

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Before opting out of the Sydney Test, Rohit had scored 31 runs in five innings which saw him draw criticism from all corners. Since leading India to the T20 World Cup glory in the West Indies in June, Rohit’s form has become a huge matter of concern.

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Rishabh Pant scores quickfire fifty

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Bumrah’s absence could be felt big time as India struggled with the bat in their second innings of the Sydney Test. The top order yet again failed to perform with Yashasvi Jaiswal scoring (22), KL Rahul (13) and Shubman Gill (13). Virat Kohli also failed to make the most of his last innings in the series and scored six runs while getting out to Boland in a similar fashion as last matches.

Rishabh Pant was the stand-out batter with 61 runs off 33 balls before falling to Pat Cummins. India at stumps on Day 2 were 141/6 and lead by 145 runs as they look to stay in the contest with a big score.