Legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has expressed concern over Virat Kohli’s place in the Indian Test team following their defeat in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT). in Australia. Sunil Gavaskar has said that Virat Kohli should play in the Ranji Trophy to regain his confidence and secure his place in the Indian Test squad.
Gavaskar’s comments came after Kohli’s disappointing performance in the final Test in Sydney, where India lost the match by six wickets. The men in blue lost the series by a margin of 1-3 in Australia. This defeat also eliminated India from contention for a place in the 2025 World Test Championship (WTC) final.
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During a discussion on Star Sports, Sunil Gavaskar said that Virat Kohli should play a Ranji Trophy match in favorable conditions like Rajkot’s flat pitch, which would help him regain his confidence. Gavaškar said that the players have guaranteed places in the national team despite their bad performances.
“100 per cent. Whatever the attack is, it could be useless, even if you score runs against it in the Ranji Trophy, your confidence will be high. January 23 is Delhi’s match against Saurashtra in Rajkot. We all know Rajkot’s pitch is extremely flat. Go and score runs there – score a double hundred, you’ll get confidence,” Gavaskar replied.
“It remains to be seen whether he will do it or not. If he refuses to play, it sends a message to everyone that everything that happened is fine because he knows that the selection committee will not kick him out. Regardless of how you behave or whatever you decide, why do you is a selection committee needed if no one can reject you?” Gavaskar added
Virat Kohli scored only 190 runs in BGT 2024-25 in Australia
The 36-year-old managed 190 runs in nine innings at an average of 23.75 during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, with just one century in the opening Test. Over the past five years, Virat Kohli has scored only three centuries in his last 39 Tests. His batting average dropped from the mid-50s in 2019 to below 47.
In the post-series press conference, head coach Gautam Gambhir said that players who are not currently playing for India should participate in domestic cricket. India will play a T20I series against England during the upcoming Ranji Trophy. Kohli, after retiring from T20Is, should be available to play in the Ranji Trophy.
He was earlier an automatic pick – Sunil Gavaskar
In the same discussion, Sunil Gavaskar raised questions about Virat Kohli’s place as an automatic selection in the Indian Test side. Gavaskar said the selectors may now have to decide on his inclusion for the upcoming tour of England.
“You will certainly question whether he is an automatic pick now. He was an automatic pick before. His performances were so great that he was an automatic pick,” he said.
“Whenever the selectors sit, they pick 10 or 11, and numbers 10 to 14 are the most debated. However, I feel after this performance, Ajit Agarkar and his fellow selectors will definitely be debating whether he can be automatically included in the team for tour of England,” Gavaskar remarked.
England will host India in a five-match Test series starting on June 20 at Headingley, Leeds. The remaining matches will be played at Edgbaston in Birmingham, Lord’s in London, Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester and Kennington Oval in London.
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