The Indian cricket team’s performance at a high-level meeting held at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai on Saturday, January 12, came under severe scrutiny after the team’s debacle in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.
Indian captain Rohit Sharma, head coach Gautam Gambhir, chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar, BCCI president Roger Binny, vice-president Rajeev Shukla and joint secretary Devjit Saikia attended the meeting.
Domestic Cricket is now mandatory for India’s senior players, BCCI announces
According to a Dainik Jagran report, after reviewing India’s recent performance, especially against Australia and New Zealand, the BCCI has given a no-nonsense directive to senior players to participate in domestic cricket to improve their performance and be ready for the match. .
The BCCI has tightened its grip on centrally contracted players, allowing them to skip domestic cricket matches only under strict conditions. Players seeking release must submit a detailed physio report and be approved by both Gautam Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar.
The BCCI will give the go-ahead to these players only if India coach Gambhir and chief selector Agarkar bring up workload management or other genuine concerns, the report said. BCCI’s message is bold and clear that there will be no exceptions, only total commitment to the game at all levels.
BCCI puts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli under scrutiny for poor form and lack of domestic cricket
Meanwhile, the performance issues of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were also discussed in a high-level meeting on Saturday. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s disappointing tour of Australia has raised serious questions in the Indian Test team about their form and future.
Rohit managed just 31 runs in five innings and was withdrawn from the final Test in Sydney due to a poor performance, while Kohli scored a century in Perth but struggled overall, amassing just 190 runs in nine innings, often falling to off-stump deliveries. Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.
Adding to the concern is their long absence from domestic cricket. Rohit last played in a Ranji Trophy match in 2015 while Kohli last appeared in 2012. The gap was reportedly a major theme at the BCCI’s review meeting in Mumbai, where their poor form and lack of domestic game experience was discussed.
According to a report in Dainik Jagran, this loophole was also discussed at the BCCI’s review meeting in Mumbai. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s poor form with the bat and lack of domestic experience were also discussed in the meeting.
BCCI is looking for solutions from Gautam Gambhir and selectors as Rohit and Kohli’s Test future is in doubt
India’s next Test series is against England in June 2025 and speculation is rife whether Rohit and Kohli will make the squad for the much-anticipated UK tour. With their recent performances, the future of India’s biggest cricket icons is at stake.
On the other hand, Gautam Gambhir’s coaching experience with Team India got off to a rough start. Team India lost the ODI series against Sri Lanka, suffered a crushing Test upset at home against New Zealand and lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to Australia for the first time in 10 years.
Adding to the woes, the Rohit Sharma-led Indian cricket team missed out on qualifying for the World Test Championship (WTC) final for the first time. With these results, BCCI is demanding immediate solutions from Gambhir, the selectors and the team management to get India back on track.
