Rohit, Gill, Jaiswal, Pant score a combined 12 runs; Jadeja stands out with 5-wkt haul
NEW DELHI: The red ball continues to haunt India’s top Test players. Following a torrid Test season, Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant managed to score a combined 12 runs and lasted a total of just 45 balls for their respective state teams on the first day of the Ranji Trophy‘s second leg on Thursday.
Ravindra Jadeja was the only one who had a good day, taking 5/66 and scoring a quickfire 38 off 36 balls for Saurashtra against Delhi in Rajkot.
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Concerns about batting form were flagged after India lost the Sydney Test in the first week of the year, prompting these international stars to take the field in domestic cricket inside three weeks after a hectic 10-Test season. While Yashashvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant scored four and one for Mumbai and Delhi respectively, the national selectors will be particularly worried about Rohit and Gill’s ordeals against the new ball.
Rohit could manage just three off 19 balls before he fell tamely to J&K’s Umar Nazir in Mumbai. Gill scored four while opening for Punjab against Karnataka in Bengaluru.
The Indian cricket board (BCCI) has identified international cricketers’ reluctance to play domestic cricket as one of the factors behind the Test team’s decline over the last four months. Captain Rohit’s place in the team has come under the scanner and so has Gill’s ability to tackle top-quality Test bowling.
More than Jaiswal and Pant – who have been India’s leading scorers in the season – alarm bells will be ringing for Rohit and Gill.
Adjustment pangs
How the selectors perceive the performances will be interesting. Way back in 2015, India’s current head coach Gautam Gambhir had told TOI about the difficulties of playing at the domestic level after having played international cricket for a long time.
“It is difficult in certain ways. You face medium pacers for so much of the time after facing bowlers hurling at 140 kmph in IPL or international level. It is down to mental strength,” Gambhir had said.
Former India selector Devang Gandhi reckons the selectors will be more focused on how Rohit and Gill fare. “International players usually play domestic cricket to find their touch or stay in form. The way Rohit got out playing a half-hearted shot could be a bit worrying. Even Gill needs runs to get his confidence back. I wouldn’t worry much about Jaiswal and Pant because they have scored most runs for India of late,” Gandhi told TOI.
“Before pouncing on these players, one must also remember they are coming off an extensive Test season. It takes a lot out of you both physically and mentally. More than this Ranji match, the Duleep Trophy was an ideal preparation at the start of the season,” Gandhi added.
Conditions enable hosts to push for outright wins
If one browses through the scoresheets of the Ranji matches in this round, most of the venues witnessed collapses and teams were bowled out two-thirds through the day’s play. Multiple matches have seen 14 or more wickets falling on the day. This is the penultimate league round of the Ranji Trophy and history suggests home associations opt for bowler-friendly pitches to enforce outright results in order to push for a quarterfinal berth.
“It has been a tradition in Ranji cricket at this point of the competition. Host associations either prepare heavily seamer-friendly pitches or rank turners. Jadeja had a good day because he was bowling on a raging turner. Even Cheteshwar Pujara got out to part-time offie Ayush Badoni. Other centres too have overtly helped either seamers or spinners. It doesn’t help Indian cricket anyway,” Gandhi said.
‘Neutral’ curators under scanner
BCCI appoints neutral curators to counter such situations. However, the move has not yet yielded results. Host associations don’t face any serious sanctions while the neutral curator is hauled up in case the pitch is of poor quality.
“It’s tough to stick to your guns at the state associations with influential administrators. The pressure is unreal on neutral curators, who may be at the venue for a week. If the pitch is reported as poor, the curator will be answerable. BCCI has to start docking points too,” a BCCI official said.
