Sunil Gavaskar wants Virat Kohli to play in the Ranji Trophy to find his form and confidence and retain his place in the Indian Test squad as well. He questioned the need for a selection committee if players are guaranteed a place even if they don’t play domestic cricket as well. However, Team India faced a six-wicket defeat against Australia in the fifth Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 Test in Sydney on Sunday, January 5.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Gavaskar said, “100 percent. Whatever might be the attack, it might be useless, even if you score runs against that in the Ranji Trophy, your confidence will be high. On January 23, Delhi’s match is against Saurashtra in Rajkot. We all know Rajkot’s pitch is extremely flat. Go and score runs there – score a double hundred, you will get the confidence. It remains to be seen whether he does that or not. If he refuses to play, it gives a message to everyone that whatever happened is fine as he knows the selection committee won’t drop him. No matter how you perform or whatever you decide, why do you need the selection committee if no one can drop you?”

In the same discussion, Sunil Gavaskar also questioned whether Virat Kohli should be an automatic pick in India’s Test side as well.

“You will definitely ask the question whether he is an automatic selection now. He used to be an automatic selection earlier. His performances used to be so terrific that he used to be selected automatically. Whenever the selection committee sits, they pick 10 or 11, and the most discussion happens for Nos. 10 to 14. However, I feel after this performance, Ajit Agarkar and his fellow selectors will definitely discuss whether he can automatically be included in the team for the England tour,” Sunil Gavaskar concluded.