Manjrekar reacts to Gambhir statement on Rohit: Former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar has given an interesting and bold reaction to Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir’s comments regarding the retirement of Test captain Rohit Sharma following the series loss in Australia.
India failed to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as they lost the five-Test series in Australia by 3-1. India started the series with a win in Perth but lost the Tests in Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney, while the Brisbane Test ended in a rain-affected draw.
In the press conference after the series, Gambhir was fronted up with the question of the future of Rohit as well as Virat Kohli amid their dismal forms. Rohit scored only 31 runs in three Tests and dropped himself from the 5th Test. Kohli did score a century in Perth, but that was that: he managed 90 runs in his other eight innings apart from the Perth century and got out edging deliveries outside the off-stump throughout the series.
Gambhir said that he won’t talk about the future of the players and let it to them to decide for themselves.
“I can’t talk about the future of any player. It’s up to them as well. But yes, what I can say is that they still have the hunger. They still have the passion. They’re tough people. And hopefully they can continue to take Indian cricket forward. But ultimately, as we all know, whatever they plan, they will plan for the best interest of Indian cricket,” Gambhir said.
Selection is up to the selectors: Sanjay Manjrekar reacts to Gambhir statement on Rohit and Kohli
Sanjay Manjrekar has been vocal in his criticism of Rohit amid his disastrous form. Rohit has averaged only 10.9 in his last eight tests, stretching up to the home season.
Taking to Twitter, Manjrekar reacted to Gambhir’s remarks, opining that while retirement is the player’s decision, the selection or non-selection of an out-of-form player is in the hands of the selection.
Manjrekar tweeted, “When to retire, is upto the player but how long to play, is upto the selectors.”
Rohit was interviewed by Star Sports on day 2 of the Sydney Test, where he revealed that it was his call to opt out of the fifth Test owing to his low returns with the bat, but he confirmed that he has not retired from Test cricket.
India’s next Test series is in June—a five-match tour of England—by the time Rohit will be 38 and Kohli will be inching towards his 37th birthday. The end of an era is nigh for the Indian Test team, with Ravichandran Ashwin already retired.
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