Team India captain Rohit Sharma on Monday sent out a clear message to players who lack the hunger and do not prioritise Test cricket.
“This is the toughest format and in this tough format, if you want success and want to excel, you’ll have to keep that hunger in you. We’ll give opportunity only to those who are hungry.
“You get to know who’s hungry and who’s not. You get to understand who all want to play and perform in tough conditions. Only those players will get the preference. It’s as simple as that. No point in playing them if they don’t have the hunger,” Rohit said at the news conference after India’s convincing victory in the fourth Test.
Rohit didn’t name anyone but his comments came at a time when the Board is making every attempt to make sure that all contracted players take part in the Ranji Trophy. The focus has been on Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan, who have skipped Ranji matches since being left out of the Test squad.
Board secretary Jay Shah had also warned the players that they would face “severe implications” for skipping domestic matches to keep themselves ready for the IPL.
The IPL is “good”, but Test cricket is of a different level, Rohit emphasised. “The IPL is a good format, no doubt. But this (Test cricket) is the most difficult format and getting success here is not that easy.
“We have seen in this series and the four matches that we played. The three victories we’ve had were not that easy. We had to work hard, batsmen had to spend time in the middle and bowlers had to bowl long spells. This is a hard-work format.
“Test cricket throws different kinds of challenges, different kinds of pressures. The way some of the youngsters have dealt with pressure throughout the series has been superb,” Rohit said.
Barring Rajat Patidar, most of the youngsters who got a chance to don the India cap so far in this series have been able to deliver.
“A lot of these young guys never played Test before and (have) never been a part of the Indian dressing room. Firstly, to understand the dressing room culture is important and to adapt to the style of what we want to do as a team is another factor as well.
“But these guys have come with an open mind to whatever is required from the team. ‘I am going to put my hand up and do it’ is the kind of guys you need,” Rohit said.
