IND v ENG: There’s no point in playing those who are not hungry to succeed in Tests, says Rohit Sharma

India captain Rohit Sharma is keen on picking those players for the Test team who are willing to grind in all conditions, challenging themselves to succeed in cricket's toughest format than those who don’t have that burning desire to play Tests in the first place. Amid reports of BCCI urging centrally contracted players, not picked to play for any Indian team at the moment, to appear for their state sides in the Ranji Trophy, Rohit, without naming anyone, made his intentions clear.

With young Dhruv Jurel making the right noises with his match-winning performance in both innings against England in the Ranchi Test, Rohit complimented him, explaining why such players tend to make it bigger in Tests than those who shy away from committing to this format.

“We will give opportunities to only those who are hungry,” said Rohit after India won the fourth Test in Ranchi. “There's a point in playing those who don't have hunger.”

"I don't see anyone in the team here who is not hungry. All the boys who are here and also those who are not, they all want to play. But the thing with Test cricket is that you get very few opportunities. If you don't utilise them, they go away," Rohit further asserted.

Meanwhile, Rohit’s remarks have come at a time in Indian cricket when several centrally contracted players – fit and available for selection, opted against featuring for their respective state teams in the Ranji Trophy, with their inclination being towards keeping themselves fit for the Indian Premier League (IPL), whose latest edition begins on March 22 in Chennai.

Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer are two names making headlines for the wrong reasons lately, mainly for disobeying clear directives from the BCCI to play the Ranji Trophy for their respective states.

While both continued to remain silent and overlook BCCI’s warnings, they, alongside Hardik Pandya - another ace India cricketer who has been away from Tests since last playing in this format in 2018, are featuring in a local tournament (DY Patil T20 Cup) in Navi Mumbai ahead of the IPL 2024.

IPL is good, but Tests are toughest

Having succeeded at IPL and Test cricket, Rohit knows what Tests do to a cricketer and how tough a format it is.

Speaking on their comparison, Rohit said IPL is a great product for fun and entertainment, but Tests is the format that brings the best out of a player.

"IPL is a very good format for us, but this is the toughest format and difficult to excel. You have to work hard to win...the last three wins didn't come easy, bowlers had to do long spells, batsmen had to grind it out. It's tough," Rohit said of IPL.

Meanwhile, Rohit is no longer the captain of Mumbai Indians as the franchise has picked Hardik Pandya in his place ahead of the upcoming season.