IND vs ENG: “Leaving out an experienced player or not considering them is very hard" - Rohit Sharma

Team India captain Rohit Sharma has said that they thought about going back to include an experienced player to replace Virat Kohli in the squad for the first two Test matches against England. He, however, shared that they refrained from going on that path since it’s important to give youngsters a chance as well. Notably, Kohli pulled out his name from the first two Test matches against England citing personal reasons. And, Madhya Pradesh batter Rajat Patidar has been named as Kohli’s replacement as well.

At a press conference ahead of the opening Test against England in Hyderabad, Rohit Sharma said, “Yeah, I mean, look, you could have thought that [going back to a senior player] we did actually think about it, but all these younger players, when are they going to get their opportunity? That’s something that we thought as well.”

“Leaving out an experienced player or not considering them is very hard because of the amount of runs they’ve scored, the kind of experience they’ve had, the amount of games that they have won. For us, it’s very hard to ignore all of that, but you sometimes got to bring certain players into your setup as well, and you got to give them your favorable conditions,” he further added.

The veteran then explained that inexperienced players should get a chance of red-ball cricket at the international level at home, instead of overseas conditions.

“You don’t want to expose them or bring them on foreign tours where they’ve not played before. So I think that’s the thought behind all of that. It’s important that we try and get some of these youngsters in whenever there is an opportunity,” he again shared.

“By no means, the doors are closed for anyone, you know, as long as they stay fit and keep scoring runs. Anyone will be welcomed back into the setup. Having said that, I think it’s important to look at some of the other players as well. We don’t want to end up in a place where we’ve got you know, out of 11 guys seven or eight guys who have barely played 25 Test matches between them. So, it’s important that whenever you have the opportunity, give them some game time,” Rohit Sharma concluded.