North India Statesman
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News India Live, Digital Desk: BCCI’s Toughest Decision: There are two names in Indian cricket who are called ‘Ram-Lakhan’ of the team – Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Both of them have been the backbone of the team for years. His place in the playing-11 is considered so certain that no one can even think of raising questions on it. But now it seems the wind is changing. The new Chief Selector of BCCI, Ajit Agarkar, has given such a message, not through gestures but in simple words, which has created an earthquake in Indian cricket. The message is clear – now only the name will not suffice, you will have to score runs, otherwise… what is Agarkar’s ‘secret’ message? According to the news coming out from the corridors of BCCI, Ajit Agarkar has conveyed this to the team management and both the senior players. Word has been spread that the upcoming Test series against Australia will be ‘do or die’ for them. If both of them do not score runs in this series, then the process of their departure from the team can begin. In simple words, gone are the times when a place in the team was maintained on the basis of old records and big names. Agarkar has made it clear that there will be no hesitation in taking tough and big decisions to build the future team, no matter how big a player is in front. Why has this happened? There are many big reasons behind this tough stance: Continuous poor form: Both Rohit and Virat have not been able to perform as per their reputation in Test cricket for a long time. Barring a few good innings, there has been a huge lack of consistency in his performance. Pressure from young players: There are young players like Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Sarfaraz Khan who are scoring runs in domestic cricket. They are not knocking the door of Team India, but are breaking it. For how long can he be kept out?Preparation for the future: The Indian team now wants to build a new and strong team keeping the next World Test Championship (WTC) in mind. For this, it is important that the team should have only those players who are in form and are continuously scoring runs for the team. So is this the end of the Kohli-Rohit era? It is too early to say, but it would not be wrong to say that the countdown has started. In a way, this ultimatum is a last chance for these two giants. If he proves himself by scoring runs against Australia’s strong attack, his career can go on for a long time. But if he fails in this big test, then perhaps we will see an era of Indian cricket coming to an end. This decision signals a big change for Indian cricket, where performance will now be the only criterion for survival in the team, whether your name is Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma.
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