Virat Kohli to Rohit Sharma: When was the last time Team India’s top 5 players played in a home match?

The Indian team is under constant scrutiny after losing the series 1-3 in the Granica-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. In unfavorable times, the individual performances of the players disappointed the team again and again. In such a situation, the cricketing community constantly demands that the out-of-form players shift their focus back to domestic cricket where they can work on their fundamentals again and play for the team.

These requests are not without reason. Amidst the pomp and luxury of playing international and league cricket, esp Indian Premier League (IPL)some stars have left their home side far behind. In light of their recent abysmal performances in international cricket, here is a timeline of when the top 5 players in the Indian team last played for their home team.

Last appearance of top 5 stars of Indian team in domestic cricket

1. Virat Kohli:

Time is relentlessly running out Virat Kohliwhose performance with the bat keeps getting worse. His record in Test cricket was particularly worrying with just 417 runs in 19 innings at a poor batting average of 24.52. So there is a growing demand for the former Indian captain to play for Delhi in the upcoming Early trophy season. The 36-year-old last featured for Delhi during the 2012 Ranji Trophy season in a Group D match against Saurashtra.

2. Rohit Sharma:

Rohit Sharma is another star Indian player who recently had a horror-show with the bat. The 37-year-old scored a total of 619 runs in 24 innings at a striking average of 24.76. Additionally, Rohit scored just 31 runs in 5 innings during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy which added to his batting form. Although Rohit was recently seen training with his home team Bombay, he has not featured in a domestic cricket match since November 2015. Rohit’s last match for Bombay was against Uttar Pradesh in Group B of the Ranji Trophy where he played an outstanding score of 113 runs.

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3. Ravindra Jadeja:

Ravindra JadejaThe tour of Australia was also not good, just like the rest of the team. The all-rounder struggled with the bat, but did not leave a mark in the series or with the bowl. In such a situation, Jadeja has to refocus on performing for his home team, Saurashtra, and return to the Indian team with improved form. The experienced Indian all-rounder played his last domestic match against Tamil Nadu in November 2023.

4. Shubman Gill:

With just 93 runs in 5 innings during BGT 2024-25, Shubman Gill disappointed fans and analysts alike with the bat. The young man has not played for India lately, which caused a lot of noise and questions about his repeated selection in the national team. Gill recently joined the training of his home side, Punjab. The 25-year-old last represented them in the Ranji Trophy quarter-final clash against Madhya Pradesh in January 2022 and has not featured for Punjab since then.

5. KL Rahul:

Apart from the heroics in Brisbane, KL Rahul could not save the Indian batting unit from a disappointing display in their recent tour of Australia. Rahul has been inconsistent with the bat for some time now and has failed as a top batsman to stabilize the Indian innings and convert the momentum built into long innings. Hence, there is a growing demand that he has to focus on domestic cricket and work to regain his international temperament at the cricketing level. Rahul did not play for the home team, Karnataka from March 2020. His last appearance for the domestic team was during the Ranji Trophy semi-final against Bengal in which Karnataka suffered a defeat by 174 runs.

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