Time to look beyond Virat and Rohit

By Chander Shekhar Luthra.

Both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have had a poor home Test season. Whether it was against Bangladesh or New Zealand, both these stalwarts had difficulty making any impact.

And with India going Down Under to resume Border-Gavaskar Trophy rivalry beginning November 22, their current form and performance raise questions. Even while chasing a paltry match-winning target of 147 in the final Test of the series against New Zealand on Sunday, Virat (1) and Rohit (11) got out for low scores.

Both players have concluded an extremely disappointing home season, which included series against Bangladesh and the Kiwis, with poor dismissals. Ahead of the highly anticipated BGT series, the squad’s performance is encouraging. India would need a decisive victory in the series to guarantee their third consecutive trip to the Lord’s for the ICC World Test Championship final the following year.

Rohit could manage 133 runs at an average of just 13.30 in these five Test matches, including a half-century in a total of 10 innings. This season, he has scored 6, 5, 23, 8, 2, 52, 0, 8, 18, and 11 at home.

If this is not enough, then look at Rohit’s last 11 Tests (21 innings), where he managed 588 runs at a poor average of 29.40. Though he scored two centuries and two fifties during this time, this average in Tests is the lowest for him in a calendar year since he started opening in the format in 2019.

In the same period, he has excelled in T20 cricket, achieving an average of 36.13 and a strike rate of 154.66, which are the highest figures for a calendar year. Overall, in the ongoing ICC WTC 2023-25, the Indian skipper has scored 833 runs in 14 Tests at an average of 33.32, with three centuries and four fifties in 26 innings.

His best score has been 131.

Virat’s stats are marginally superior to those of his skipper. He has amassed 192 runs at an average of 21.33 in 10 innings throughout five Tests, with a top score of 70 and only one fifty. He has scored 6, 17, 47, 29*, 0, 70, 1, 17, 4, and 1 this home season.

In the ongoing WTC cycle, Virat has scored 561 runs in nine Tests and 16 innings at an average of 37.40, with a century and three fifties in 16 innings and a best score of 121. Virat’s performances against left-arm spinners are particularly worrying, as he has averaged just 20.41. In the most recent home season alone, left-armers dismissed him four times, twice to Mitchell Santner and once each to Shakib Al Hasan and Ajaz Patel.

Despite his struggling form, Virat has appeared hesitant playing domestic cricket. In fact, he last played a Ranji Trophy game in November 2012, just before Sachin Tendulkar’s last tournament appearance.

Is it the end of an era?

The 0-3 whitewash by New Zealanders has raised many questions about the future of our stalwarts. Not only are Rohit and Virat under scrutiny, but the performances of two spinners — Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja — are also under scrutiny.

This defeat has forced Indian cricket fans to look at a scenario where these ageing stars will have to think hard about their retirement plans. There is no doubting the significant contribution of these four key players over the past decade or so, as Team India has remained unbeaten at home for nearly 12 years, in addition to making it to the WTC finals twice.

Considering Ashwin’s age of 38, Rohit’s age of 37, Kohli’s nearing 36, and Jadeja’s upcoming 36th birthday in December, the Team India think-tank must focus on preparing for the upcoming WTC 2025-27 cycle.

India have played 56 home Tests since losing the Test series to England in 2012; they have won 42 and lost seven. Under Rohit’s leadership, India won 17 of the 23 Test matches in which all four players participated, drew two, and lost four.

But Ashwin’s lackluster bowling performance in Bengaluru’s opening Test against the Kiwis surprised almost everyone. Despite a heavy workload, the 38-year-old Tamil Nadu spinner has never looked so mediocre in home Test matches since making his debut.

Ashwin took 11 wickets at an economy rate of 3.31 against Bangladesh. He took 26 wickets in the England series; however, he gave up runs at a rate of 4.12. He claimed nine wickets at an economy rate of 3.79 during the recently concluded New Zealand series.

In every format, Jadeja is still essential to India’s cricket setup. He has played in 48 of 56 home Test matches since 2013, missing just eight of them, including six after 2021. His Test statistics, with an average of 23.76, a strike rate of 56.05, and an economy rate of 2.51 over 77 matches, demonstrate his significance.

However, Jadeja’s economy rate rose to 3.30 at home in 2024, which was a significant increase from his previous year.

The big question here is that “why has a different yardstick been used to judge Virat or Rohit?”

If Test specialist players like Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane were omitted from the national team and instructed to play domestic cricket again to secure a spot in the Test team, it raises serious questions.

Given that the BCCI has been attempting to highlight the significance of domestic cricket, are the team management and selectors not creating an unsettling precedent?

About the Writer: Chander Shekhar Luthra is a senior sports journalist based in Delhi with a unique background as a former cricketer turned journalist. As an ex-Ranji player, he brings over 27 years of expertise covering a wide array of sports events. His work includes in-depth coverage and analysis of ICC Cricket World Cups, the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Olympic Games, and the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea. He can be reached at shekhar.luthra@gmail.com.

Twitter: @shekharluthra