Manjrekar's Message to Agarkar on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli: Selectors to Decide Playing Duration

The spotlight shifted to the captain's form as Rohit Sharma missed the first Test in Perth to be on paternity leave, resulting in India's victory. However, upon his return for the second fixture, things took a turn for the worse for the visitors. The India opener struggled, managing only 31 runs in five innings at an average of 6.20, before deciding to sit out of the final Test in Sydney. Since September, Rohit Sharma has been in a slump in Test matches, scoring a mere 164 runs in eight innings.

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Since his exclusion from the playing XI for the fifth Test, theories have been thrown into the picture by fans and former players, with many feeling that he could retire from Tests, or lose his spot permanently in the playing XI. Meanwhile, even Virat Kohli has come under fire for poor form. Other than his ton in Perth, the batter has failed, especially to Scott Boland.

Sanjay Manjrekar's message to Ajit Agarkar

Taking to X, former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar joined the bandwagon, and made a statement on Rohit and Kohli’s future. He wrote, “When to retire, is upto the player but how long to play, is upto the selectors.”

Manjrekar’s tweet comes after he recently said that if the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee continue to back Rohit and Virat Kohli, then the pair should play some county cricket ahead of the Test series in England.

Rohit has already clarified publicly that he won’t be retiring from Tests. Speaking to Star Sports on Day 2 of the fifth Test, he slammed his critics over their words on his form He said, “I am confident things will change. At the same time, I have to be realistic as well. At the same time, some person is sitting with a mic, laptop or a pen and writing stuff; our lives do not change because of what that person is writing or saying.”

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