"They haven’t played red-ball cricket.." Suresh Raina not in favour of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli resting from Duleep Trophy

Suresh Raina reckons playing Duleep Trophy would have been helpful for Rohit and Kohli ahead of the test season.

The decision of the BCCI selectors to rest Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma from the first round of the Duleep Trophy 2024/25 has been met with criticism. Former Indian batsmen Sunil Gavaskar and Sanjay Manjrekar have already expressed their disagreement with the senior duo being rested from the upcoming domestic tournament.

Another former India batsman and a former teammate of both Rohit and Kohli, Suresh Raina, has echoed similar sentiments as Gavaskar, saying that playing red-ball cricket ahead of the test season would have been beneficial for the two Indian stalwarts.

Several Team India players will feature across the two matches in the first round of the Duleep Trophy, starting September 5, as they will look to make their cases for selection for the test series against Bangladesh, which will get underway on September 19.

They should’ve played in the Duleep Trophy: Suresh Raina

Rohit and Kohli, though, won’t be in action. Since winning the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 final on June 29, they have played only three ODI matches in Sri Lanka.

Raina pointed out that the pair have not played any red-ball cricket for a long time. Rohit’s last red-ball game was the test series against England in February-March, while Kohli had opted out of that series due to the birth of his son in London. Kohli’s last red-ball match was in January in Cape Town.

Speaking with Sports Tak, Raina said, “Yes, they should’ve played, you see we haven’t played red-ball cricket ever since the IPL ended. Since, we’re heading towards a crucial Test series, one must play 4 day cricket and get used to how the wicket will behave on Day 4. I think they’re matured enough when they will regroup for 4-5 days and start practising. Sometimes, family-time is also important.“

India will host Bangladesh for two tests in Chennai and Kanpur, followed by a three-T20I series. India will then host New Zealand for three tests.

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