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Batting great Sunil Gavaskar has expressed concern over Virat Kohli's current form in Tests following his batting fiasco in the just-concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Gavaskar comments came after India's six-wicket defeat against Australia which cost them the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-2025 title. India lost the five-match series 1-3 to Australia which also dashed their WTC 2023-2025 final hopes.
Sunil Gavaskar wants Virat Kohli to play Ranji Trophy
Gavaskar said that Kohli should consider playing in the Ranji Trophy, India's premier domestic first-class competition. Gavaskar believes that participating in the Ranji Trophy would provide Kohli with a valuable opportunity to regain his confidence and rediscover his form.
Gavaskar also raised concerns about the current selection process for Team India, stating that players seem to be guaranteed spots regardless of their recent performances. He questioned the purpose of a Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee if players are not held accountable for their domestic performances.
"100 percent. Whatever might be the attack, it might be useless, even if you score runs against that in the Ranji Trophy, your confidence will be high. On January 23, Delhi's match is against Saurashtra in Rajkot. We all know Rajkot's pitch is extremely flat. Go and score runs there - score a double hundred, you will get the confidence," Gavaskar told Star Sports.
"It remains to be seen whether he does that or not. If he refuses to play, it gives a message to everyone that whatever happened is fine as he knows the selection committee won't drop him. No matter how you perform or whatever you decide, why do you need the selection committee if no one can drop you?" the former India captain further said.
Virat Kohli's batting rut
Virat Kohli's recent form in Test cricket has been a cause for concern. He scored just 190 runs across nine innings with only one century to his name in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. He scored runs at a lowly average of 23.75. This follows a trend of declining performance in recent years. Kohli has scored only three centuries in his last 39 Tests, and his batting average has dipped from the mid-50s in 2019 to below 47.
Even India's head coach Gautam Gambhir stressed on the importance of domestic cricket for players after the fifth Test against Australia. With India set to play a T20I series against England during the upcoming Ranji Trophy season, Kohli, having retired from T20Is, could potentially utilise this opportunity to regain form at the domestic level.
Gavaskar also questioned Kohli's automatic selection in the Test team. Gavaskar suggested that the selectors might need to carefully consider Kohli's inclusion in the upcoming tour of England, given his recent struggles.
"You will definitely ask the question whether he is an automatic selection now. He used to be an automatic selection earlier. His performances used to be so terrific that he used to be selected automatically. Whenever the selection committee sits, they pick 10 or 11, and the most discussion happens for Nos. 10 to 14. However, I feel after this performance, Ajit Agarkar and his fellow selectors will definitely discuss whether he can automatically be included in the team for the England tour," Gavaskar concluded.
