It Takes Courage to Ask Rohit and Virat to Step Aside: Surinder Khanna
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New Delhi, Dec 30 (NationPress) Former Indian wicketkeeper-batter Surinder Khanna has advocated for benching the out-of-form senior players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli following a significant 184-run defeat to Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Monday.
The Indian captain Rohit, who was absent for the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Perth, has faced challenges in scoring runs throughout the tour. In five innings spanning three Tests, he has managed to gather only 31 runs. Additionally, the Indian captain has switched his batting position from the middle order to the top order without any success.
Conversely, Kohli has struggled to match his century performance from Perth in his subsequent five innings, recording scores of 7, 11, 3, 36, and 5 in the last three Tests of the series. His difficulties with deliveries outside the off-stump have raised concerns for the former captain. Despite demonstrating solid technique in the first innings of the Boxing Day Test, Kohli failed to convert a stable start into a substantial score, repeating the same errors in the second innings.
“Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are completely out of form. When your key players are not performing and runs are scarce, winning a Test match becomes a challenge. Australia adapted better to the conditions and executed a strong game plan. Our young talents are stepping up; (Nitish Kumar) Reddy scored a century on his debut tour, and (Yashasvi) Jaiswal is in fine form,” Khanna told IANS.
The seasoned cricketer emphasized the need for the team management to have the courage to address this issue with the senior players to create opportunities for others.
“Since Rohit returned, he has batted in both the middle and top orders, yet he isn’t scoring. This is a problem that Gambhir, the selectors, and Rohit himself are not confronting. You need the courage to tell the captain and Virat Kohli to step aside and have a direct conversation so someone else can play. It’s expected that senior players should contribute runs, but they are currently out of form... Tough decisions must be made for better outcomes. The board will permit these players to announce their decisions, but the writing is on the wall,” the former cricketer added.
Australia now leads the five-Test series 2-1, with the final Test scheduled at Sydney Cricket Ground starting January 3.
