India’s recent home whitewash against New Zealand has set off a wave of criticism, with many questioning the team’s preparation and player management strategies. The defeat, India’s first-ever 0-3 Test series loss on home soil, has brought scrutiny not only on the players but also on the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). At the start of 2024, the BCCI had received praise for mandating that Indian players participate in domestic cricket when not on national duty.
Now, however, the board is under fire for allowing top players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to skip the Duleep Trophy—a crucial domestic tournament held right before the international season began. Before hosting Bangladesh in September and October, India hadn’t played a Test since March 2024. Between March and September, the team’s focus shifted to limited-overs formats, culminating in a T20 World Cup victory.
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Following this, both Rohit and Kohli retired from T20 Internationals, and their only subsequent appearances were in a three-match ODI series in Sri Lanka before the Test series against Bangladesh began. Reports had initially suggested that seasoned Test players like Rohit, Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Jasprit Bumrah would participate in the Duleep Trophy to gear up for the Test season.
However, these players ultimately chose to sit out. In the recent home series, Kohli scored just 192 runs across two series against Bangladesh and New Zealand, while Rohit managed only 133 runs—numbers that have raised eyebrows given their stature and experience.
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Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has openly criticized the decision to “rest” these well-established players from domestic tournaments, suggesting that it deprived them of valuable match practice. “The big learning for the selectors from this home season is that do not rest the already well-rested players because of their stature,” Sanjay Manjrekar wrote on social media. “Both Rohit and Virat would only have benefited from playing the Duleep Trophy.”
The big learning for the selectors from this home season is that do not rest the already well rested players because of their stature.
I say this again, both Rohit & Virat would only have benefited from playing the Duleep Trophy start of the season.
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) November 5, 2024
While India won their two-Test series against Bangladesh, the New Zealand whitewash highlights vulnerabilities the team will need to address before their challenging five-match Test series against Australia, which kicks off on November 22 in Perth.
