The performance has raised concerns about their form ahead of upcoming international assignments, including the ODI series against England and the Champions Trophy
GUWAHATI: India’s top batsmen, including Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, and Rishabh Pant, endured a disappointing return to domestic cricket in the ongoing Ranji Trophy on Thursday, January 23.
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The performance has raised concerns about their form ahead of upcoming international assignments, including the ODI series against England and the Champions Trophy.
Rohit Sharma, India’s Test and ODI captain, played his first Ranji Trophy game for Mumbai in nearly a decade. However, his much-anticipated comeback turned into a damp squib as he managed only 3 runs off 19 deliveries against Jammu and Kashmir at the Sharad Pawar Academy, BKC, in Mumbai. Rohit scored just 31 runs across three matches, and was dismissed cheaply by Umar Nazir.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, opening for Mumbai, also had a disappointing outing, falling leg before wicket to Auqib Nabi for just 4 runs in the third over. Mumbai’s top-order collapse continued as captain Ajinkya Rahane was bowled by Umar Nazir for 12, leaving the defending champions struggling at 30/3.
Shreyas Iyer, meanwhile, who recently returned to the Indian squad for the Champions Trophy, could not make an impact either, scoring just 11 runs before being caught off Yudhvir Singh’s bowling.
In Rajkot, India’s wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant managed just 1 run in Delhi’s Group D clash against Saurashtra. Pant was caught by Prerak Mankad off the bowling of DA Jadeja.
In Bengaluru, Shubman Gill, India’s newly appointed vice-captain for the upcoming ODI series, also faltered. Playing for Punjab against Karnataka at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Gill scored just 4 runs before being caught by KL Shrijith off Abhilash Shetty.
The dismal performances come after the BCCI mandated contracted players to participate in domestic cricket following India’s series loss in Australia.
