Sanjay Manjrekar accuses BCCI of treating Rohit, Kohli differently (Source – Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma had a disappointing outing in the first Test against Bangladesh at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. While Kohli came up with scores of six and 17 in both innings, Rohit struggled with six and five runs in his two outings. Former India cricketer, Sanjay Manjrekar has accused BCCI of special treatment towards the duo after they failed in the first Test.
For the unversed, Kohli and Rohit were rested for the Duleep Trophy which commenced ahead of the Bangladesh series. Manjrekar iterated that their inclusion in the domestic tournament could have bettered their performance providing them with ample red-ball game time.
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“I’m not worried, but I’m sure somebody made a note of the fact that they would have been better off had they played some red-ball cricket. There was the option of picking them in the Duleep Trophy. So one has to be careful about treating certain players differently and do what’s best for Indian cricket and for the player,” Manjrekar said on ESPNcricinfo.
“Virat and Rohit not playing (Duleep Trophy) was not good for Indian cricket, nor was it good for the two players. Had they played the Duleep Trophy and had some time in the red-ball cricket, things would have been different,” he added.
That has been a problem with Indian cricket for a long time: Manjrekar
India won the first Test against Bangladesh with a resounding margin of 280 runs. They will take on the visitors in the second Test at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur on September 27. Manjrekar said that Rohit and Virat will bounce back and will be among the runs in the next assignment. He also mentioned the drawbacks of “special treatment” levied by the board on the duo.
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“But they have the class and experience to make a comeback later in the series, and I don’t see them, for that reason, not being in form. But something that one must make a quiet note of, and that has been a problem with Indian cricket for a long time now, is that certain players get picked out for special treatment because of their status, which eventually hurts that player more than anyone else,” he concluded.