Sanjay Manjrekar has expressed his concern over the decision to rest Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Jasprit Bumrah from the upcoming Duleep Trophy, suggesting that they could have been selected instead of given a break.
Earlier this month, the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee requested that all regular players for Team India make themselves available for the Duleep Trophy, which marks the start of the domestic red-ball season. The intent behind this decision was to prepare the players for the demanding Test schedule that lies ahead, including five home matches against Bangladesh and New Zealand, followed by the Border-Gavaskar Test series in Australia in December. While several top players, along with fringe and emerging talents, were named for the Duleep Trophy, Kohli, Rohit, and Bumrah were rested, a move that left former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar puzzled.
Manjrekar took to social media on Wednesday to share revealing statistics about the trio’s international appearances. In his post, he pointed out that India has played nearly 250 matches (242 since August 28, 2019) across formats in the last five years. Despite Rohit (142 matches) and Kohli (146 matches) being among the busiest Indian players, they participated in only 59 percent and 61 percent of the total matches, respectively. For Bumrah, the figure was even lower at 34 percent, with 84 matches played. Manjrekar argued that these numbers suggest that the trio has already had ample rest and could have been included in the Duleep Trophy.
"India has played 249 international matches in the last 5 years. Rohit has played only 59% of those. Virat 61 % & Bumrah 34%. I see them as well-rested Indian players. Could have been selected for the Duleep Trophy," Manjrekar tweeted.
Jay Shah, the former BCCI secretary, explained the rationale behind resting Kohli, Rohit, and Bumrah, emphasising the need to prevent injuries ahead of the crucial Test series. "We should not insist on players like Rohit and Virat to play in the Duleep Trophy. They will risk injury. If you have noticed, in Australia and England, every international player does not play domestic cricket. We have to treat the players with respect," he told the media earlier this month.
However, similar to Manjrekar, former Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar also questioned the BCCI's decision, expressing concerns that the trio might enter the Bangladesh Test series without sufficient match practice. Gavaskar highlighted that for players in their mid-thirties, a lack of competitive game time could diminish their "muscle memory," making it harder to maintain the high standards they are known for.
"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. Once a player hits the mid-thirties in any sport, regular competition will help him maintain the high standards he has set," Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-Day.