The recent Test series between India and Australia raised some serious concerns regarding skipper Rohit Sharma’s form in the red-ball format. He had amassed only 31 runs from five innings with a poor average of 6.20. His numbers in the last 15 Test innings are more worrisome as the right-handed batter has racked up 164 runs with an average of just 10.93.
Rohit participated for Mumbai marking his return to the Ranji Trophy after 3365 days on Thursday when he took the field in the fixture against Jammu and Kashmir. The 37-year-old scored in single digits. Not only him but other Indian cricketers like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill and Shivam Dube also failed to leave any impact with their scores.
Rohit Sharma, what a SUPERSTAR 🤩!!
— 𝐏riyansh ♡ (@Priyanxhx) January 23, 2025
To take a pause & catch your breath requires courage … More power to you … Respect 🙌 !! @ImRo45 pic.twitter.com/PTh5QDwC6q
Rohit, Yashasvi and Shreyas Iyer falter against J and K
Mumbai opted to bat first against Jammu and Kashmir in the Ranji Trophy fixture played at the Sharad Pawar Academy BKC (Bandra Kurla Complex) stadium. Rohit and Yashasvi walked in the middle to open the innings but the opposition bowlers troubled them by bowling in the right areas. Especially, seamer Umar Nazir was posing a big threat to the batters. He bowled 12 dot balls to the Indian skipper and was dismissed on the 13th ball after that.
- Rohit Sharma goes for 3(19).
— Tanuj Singh (@ImTanujSingh) January 23, 2025
- Yashasvi Jaiswal goes for 5(8).
- Shubman Gill goes for 4(8).
- NOT A GREAT START FOR TEAM INDIA'S BATTERS IN RANJI TROPHY..!!!! pic.twitter.com/UTd3L28POj
Yashasvi entered the contest with the confidence of performing brilliantly in Australia but failed to continue his momentum in the match. He smashed a boundary on the second ball of the innings but was dismissed on five runs from eight deliveries. Shreyas Iyer also faltered with the bat after hitting one boundary and one six each. He was dismissed on 11 runs by Yudhvir Singh.
Shubman Gill’s struggle continues
In another fixture, Shubman Gill opened the innings for Punjab against Karnataka. However, his rough patch continued in the fixture as well and the right-handed batter managed to gather just four runs from eight deliveries before departing back to the pavilion.
Rishabh Pant fails to deliver
Although Rishabh Pant has been doing well in Tests, he was unable to deliver his mighty blows in the contest against Saurashtra while playing for Delhi. He scored just one run from 10 balls before Dharmendrasinh Jadeja sent him back to the pavilion.
According to several media reports, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has made it mandatory for all Indian players to feature in the domestic circuit. This new law has compelled the star players to participate in India’s domestic First-class competition.
