Following the series loss, former India cricketers namely Ravi Shastri, Sunil Gavaskar and Irfan Pathan urged the duo of Rohit and Virat to play domestic cricket.

Amid all this, a member from the Indian team management has also stated that domestic cricket can certainly help players get into the rhythm needed to play Test cricket.

“Without game time in the middle, their game will stagnate… The switch from the red ball to the white ball is easy, but when it is the other way round, it is challenging. When you play Ranji games frequently, you will be in rhythm,” the team management member said according to a report by The Indian Express. 

While Rohit last featured in domestic cricket back in 2016, Virat was last seen on the circuit back in 2012. The duo haven’t featured for their state teams despite numerous reminders from former cricketers, so it will be interesting to see if they do end up changing their stance this time around.

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Gavaskar feels that Kohli was in the wrong when he mad the decision to engage with the crowd, as this gesture ended up putting more pressure on the shoulders of his teammate.

“Kohli must understand that whatever he does to react to the crowd actually puts more pressure on his teammates, who also then become targets of the spectators,” Gavaskar wrote in his column in The Sydney Morning Herald.

While Kohli was facing criticism for doing this act to provoke the Australian crowd, he failed with the bat. The Australian pacers made full use of his weakness against deliveries on the outside off stump, the star Indian batter was caught eight times behind the stumps.

Kohli managed to score just 190 runs at an average of 23.75. His best knock was in the opening Test of the five-match Test series in Perth, where he scored a century to help India beat the hosts by 295 runs.

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Gavaskar believes that the Indian players should make themselves available at all costs unless there is a medical emergency and also advised the selectors to only pick the players who are fully committed to the side.

“I think the next 8–10 days are crucial for Indian cricket to take a good, honest look at itself. Most importantly, the star culture has to end. Total commitment to Indian cricket is non-negotiable. Players must make themselves available every single time unless there’s a genuine medical emergency. If someone isn’t fully committed, they shouldn’t be considered for selection,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports.

Gavaskar also said that it is high time that BCCI put their foot down in certain matters and stop pampering the Indian cricketers.

“We don’t need players who are partly here and partly elsewhere. It’s time to stop pampering anyone. The recent results have been disappointing—we should have been in the World Test Championship final but didn’t make it,” Gavaskar said.

“The cricket board needs to stop acting like admirers and put their foot down. They must tell the players that Indian cricket comes first. It’s either a full commitment to Indian cricket or other priorities—you can’t have it both ways. If Indian cricket is your priority, only then should you be selected,” Gavaskar added.

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India suffered a 3-1 loss in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. Jaiswal was one of the positives in the tour besides star pacer Jasprit Bumrah, as he finished as the second-highest run-scorer behind star batter Travis Head.

During a discussion at Star Sports, Gavaskar was questioned about his thoughts about Jaiswal’s performance in the series, and the cricketing legend stated that he was quite happy with the show that was given to them.

“This player’s biggest virtue is that he learns a lot from his first mistake. The way he got out last year in both Tests in South Africa, I had a slight doubt in my mind whether he would be able to score runs on similar pitches in Australia,” Gavaskar said.

“In the first innings in Perth, he opened the face of his bat slightly and got caught at gully. In the second innings, he played with an absolutely straight bat to mid-off and mid-on and when he was flicking, he was playing wide of mid-on and not towards square leg,” Gavaskar added.

Jaiswal was dismissed for a duck in India’s first innings in the first Test match in Perth. Right as the rumours were about to begin about him, he came back in the second innings and scored 161 runs and led India to a big win.

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“We acknowledge it would have been preferable if both AB and Sunil had been asked to go on stage. The plan was that if India won Sunil would present and Allan Border would present to Australia,” a Cricket Australia official told Cricbuzz.

Gavaskar was left extremely disappointed by the situation and did not hesitate to share his views as he spoke on live television after the match.

“I certainly would have loved to have been there for the presentation. After all, it is the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and it is about Australia and India,” Gavaskar was quoted as saying by The Code Sports.

If the Indian team had won the trophy, the former Indian cricketer would have been invited to present it to the winning team. CA also gave the confirmation that Sunil Gavaskar was aware of this decision of him presenting the trophy in case Indian team had retained the title.

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After the series came to an end, Gavaskar expressed his feelings and claimed that he was not invited to handle the trophy just because he is Indian. He even said that it would have been lovely if he had been given the opportunity to present the award with his friend Allan Border.

“I certainly would have loved to have been there for the presentation. After all, it is the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and it is about Australia and India,” Gavaskar was quoted by Code Sports.

“I mean, I am here on the ground. To me, it should not matter that Australia won when it comes to the presentation. They played better cricket so they won. That’s fine. Just because I am an Indian (I did not present the trophy). I would have been happy to present the trophy with my good friend Allan Border,” he added.

Gavaskar had said that the information of him not being needed in case if Australia won or the series came to a draw was given to him before the series started. However, since the series is named after both Gavaskar and Border, he was confused about this decision.

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The story behind the name of Border-Gavaskar Trophy is actually quite interesting. The first series between the 2 sides which was labelled as the Border-Gavaskar Trophy was contested back in 1996.

India and Australia had played against each other a total of 50 times in red-ball cricket till 1996. The boards of both countries decided to make the 51st Test match between the 2 sides special. They did so by naming the one-off Test played between the 2 sides as the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

The series played between the 2 countries has been named in honor of legendary India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar and former Australia captain Allan Border.

The first-ever Border-Gavaskar Trophy was won by a Sachin Tendulkar-led Indian team which defeated Australia comfortably by 7 wickets. The match was played at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in Delhi.

Since 1996, a total of 16 Test series have been contested between the 2 teams with India emerging victorious in 10 while Australia coming out on top in 5. Finally, one series ended in a draw.

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Gavaskar believes that Rohit, who is 37 at the moment, is going to be 41 by the time it is the next WTC cycle. The BCCI selectors will most likely look to include young players. In a conversation, the cricketing legend has stated that Rohit being absent from Sydney Test might be an early indicator of this change taking place.

“My feeling is that, because the new World Test Championship cycle starts from July, with a series in England, there are no test matches now between the end of this Test match (SCG Test) and that Test match. If India does not qualify for the WTC Final, then I think that the selection committee will want to look, not just at Rohit Sharma, but at some others. They might be saying, ‘look, are they going to be available for the 2027 World Test Championship Final?’ In case India does well in the next two years. So that should be the selection committees’ thinking. And so I think maybe Rohit Sharma, being almost 38 year-old, will not be fitting into their plans because he would be 40-years-old then,” Gavaskar said.

Coming to the match, India’s stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah won the toss and decided to bat first. The visitors managed to score 185 runs before Australian bowlers wrapped up their innings. Rishabh Pant was the highest run-scorer for India as he scored 40 runs.

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This announcement came following Rohit’s dismal batting display in the 3 Border-Gavaskar Tests he participated in. Scoring only a total of 31 runs in 5 innings, the team management took the huge decision of dropping the 37-year old from captaincy and playing XI.

After Bumrah, the stand-in captain, said that Rohit opted to rest from the fifth Test, legendary India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar said that this might signal the end of the player in Tests.   

“Melbourne Test would be Rohit Sharma’s last, maybe. The selection committee will now be looking at somebody who can lead till the 2025-2027 World Test Championship final. I mean, India may not qualify but the thinking process will be like that from the section committee. So, maybe, we have probably seen Rohit Sharma for the last time in Tests,” Gavaskar told Star Sports.

Speculation over Rohit’s future in red-ball cricket increased after India lost the fourth Test in Melbourne which saw them trail the Aussies by 2-1 in the series.

Rohit, who has so far played 67 Tests in his career, is expected to announce his retirement from the format soon.

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Since there are not any more Test matches in the upcoming months, Gavaskar believed that India will not make it to the World Test Championship final, with the squad moving on from Rohit Sharma. According to the former player, the selection committee will be in search of a batter who can keep playing till 2027, which marks the end of the World Test Championship cycle.

“Well, I think what it probably means is that India don’t qualify for the World Test Championship final. To me, it looks that the Melbourne Test would be Rohit Sharma’s last game. The new cycle of the World Test Championship will start from the England series, so they will look to have somebody who will be available for 2027 final. Whether India gets to the final or not is another matter, but I think that’s what the selection committee will do. Therefore maybe we’ve probably seen Rohit Sharma for the last time in Test cricket,” Sunil Gavaskar said on Star Sports.

Gavaskar has believed that the decision to rest Rohit Sharma for the final Test of the series has had some influence from Ajit Agarkar without a doubt. India was currently 1-2 before the Sydney Test. If they wish to stay in the World Test Championship final, they must make sure that they win the last match of the series.

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