Important for Kohli, Rohit to play domestic cricket: Ravi Shastri

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri is the latest to urge Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to get back to playing domestic cricket. Both Kohli and Rohit are undergoing a lean patch, especially in Test cricket, where they have had a forgettable year.

In fact, their misery was highlighted in the recent series in Australia, where Rohit scored just 31 runs in five innings, while Kohli managed just 190 runs in nine innings, including an unbeaten ton in Perth. Shastri said there were a couple of reasons he believed that the duo should head back to domestic cricket.

“If there’s a gap for them, I think they should go back and play some domestic cricket and see how it is,” Shastri said in the ICC Review.

“Because when you play Test match cricket for that length of time, it’s important to play domestic cricket for two reasons: You’re abreast with the current generation [and] you can contribute to that younger generation with your experience. 

"And more importantly, you get to play spin more than you will ever play. So, if you see India as recorded, India on turning tracks is not the greatest. If you have quality spinners in the opposition, they can trouble you. And they have troubled India."

As far as their future in Test cricket is concerned, the 62-year-old says it is best to leave it to them to make the call.

“They might have been lucky to get over a couple of series, but you saw how New Zealand exposed them before coming to Australia. So I would leave it on that. And plus, it’s the hunger and desire. When you’re in your 30s, one is 36, the other is 38. They would know how hungry they are,” Shastri said.

India do not play a Test till their tour of England in June 2025.