Rohit Sharma got down to practice with the Mumbai Ranji Trophy side in a bid to rediscover his lost form ahead of the ODIs versus England and the Champions Trophy next month.
Rohit had a lean patch in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy accumulating 31 runs in five innings across three Tests before opting out of the final game because of poor form.
During practice on the centre wicket of the Wankhede Stadium, Rohit batted alongside Mumbai captain Ajinkya Rahane for close to 45 minutes. Yashasvi Jaiswal has also been asked to join Mumbai practice.
Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant have also been included in the Delhi squad for the next round of Ranji ties, which begins on January 23.
Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) secretary Ashok Sharma claimed Pant was available for the match. There is no guarantee though that the others will play. The star players usually make themselves available only a few days prior to the start of a domestic game.
“Yes, Pant has confirmed his availability for the next Ranji game and will join the squad in Rajkot directly. About Virat Kohli, we want him to play but we haven’t heard from him while Harshit Rana is selected in the T20I squad and hence is unavailable,” Sharma was quoted as saying by PTI.
Rohit’s last appearance for Mumbai in a first-class fixture was in 2015 against Uttar Pradesh. Kohli last played a Ranji game in 2012.
Mumbai will take on Jammu and Kashmir at home, while Delhi will play Saurashtra in the next round of Ranji matches.
India head coach Gautam Gambhir had stressed the importance of playing domestic first-class cricket as often as possible after the 1-3 debacle in Australia.
“I would always like everyone to play domestic cricket. That is how much importance domestic cricket needs to be given,” Gambhir had said. “Not only one game, but if they are available and have the commitment to play red-ball cricket, everyone should play domestic cricket. If you don’t give importance to domestic cricket, you will never get the desired players.”
Gill gears up
Shubman Gill is expected to make his Ranji return in Punjab’s away clash against Karnataka in Bengaluru. Gill, who had an ordinary time with the bat in Australia, hasn’t been picked for the
five T20Is against England, beginning at Eden Gardens on January 22.
He also has a chance to feature in Punjab’s next Ranji clash — another away match — against Bengal from January 30. Assuming Gill
will be selected for the ODI series against Jos Buttler’s England, he can still feature in the Bengal game as it begins on January 30 and ends on February 2.
The three-match ODI series begins on February 6.
But it looks like Gill will only play the Karnataka game. “He’s likely to play in the first one,” Wasim Jaffer, current Punjab coach and a former India opener, told The Telegraph on Tuesday.
