Renowned cricket commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has come to Virat Kohli's rescue and weighed in on the ongoing debate surrounding the performances of former India captain and Rohit Sharma in Tests. Manjrekar believes it's unfair to judge both players by the same standards, given their distinct Test records.
Virat Kohli's batting fiasco
Manjrekar's comments came amidst both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's batting fiasco. In the Boxing-Day Test against Australia at MCG, both Kohli and Rohit failed to click with the bat which saw India losing the crucial match by 184 runs. Rohit, despite a patient start, was dismissed for 9, while Kohli fell cheaply for 5, continuing his struggles against deliveries outside the off-stump.
Both Kohli and Rohit have faced criticism for their flop shows with the bat in 2024, with their Test averages hovering around a staggering 24. Manjrekar, however, wants Indian team management to give longer rope to Kohli and greater leniency compared to Rohit, given former's illustrious Test career.
Following his unbeaten century in Perth, Kohli failed to fire with the bat. He notched 7 and 11 run in Adelaide), 3 in Brisbane, and 36 and 5 in Melbourne Test. The batting juggernaut had a horrific year with the bat as could only amass 419 runs in 10 Tests at an average of 24.52, including one hundred a half- century in 2024. On the other hand, Rohit, after missing the series opener, also had a rough outing in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He has so far amassed 31 runs in five outings.
Sanjay Manjrekar comes to Virat Kohli's defence
Manjrekar also termed Kohli a modern-day great of Test cricket and believes that his past achievements warrant continued support.
“I must say there is no comparison between Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as Test batters. Kohli is right up there. He's a great Test batter, and Rohit is a good Test batter. Rohit's white-ball batting is great. So, Virat obviously deserves a longer rope," Sanjay Manjrekar said on Star Sports.
Meanwhile, cricketer turned commentator also questioned India's batting coach who can't solve the obvious problem of such a fine player.
"It's not so much about Virat Kohli. I want to know what the batting coach of India is doing. We can't solve the obvious problem of such a fine player. Enough has been said about Virat Kohli; we just have to leave him alone,” he concluded.