Sunil Joshi Wants India's Test Batters To Play More Domestic Matches

Sunil Joshi, the former India spinner who was chief selector during the 2-1 Test series win in Australia in 2020/21, believes the current Test team batters should play more domestic cricket matches, claiming that it would aid them in getting their run-making groove. India recently suffered a 3-1 Test series loss in Australia, where captain Rohit Sharma made just 31 runs in five innings, while Kohli, despite hitting an unbeaten century in India's 295-run win in Perth, made only 190 runs across all five matches.

The last time Kohli played a Ranji Trophy game was in 2012, while Rohit has not played a domestic red-ball cricket match for nine years now. The recent domestic first-class game for the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, and Rishabh Pant came in the season-opening Duleep Trophy. Moreover, head coach Gautam Gambhir said after the series loss in Sydney that players should make themselves available to play domestic cricket "if they have the commitment to play red-ball cricket".

"Our top-order batters don't play domestic cricket, and why don't they play there? If I am injured, no. If I've been playing all three formats of the game, then yes. If not, please go and play domestic cricket for four days, as when you score runs on those surfaces, it becomes much more easier," said Joshi in an exclusive conversation with IANS.

"But suddenly, when you come, practice and play two sessions in a Test match on a turner, no chance to get runs then. I've been saying this since I was part of the selection committee, people like Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble played domestic cricket despite having made it to the Indian team," he said.

The only window for Test team players, who are not in consideration for ODIs, to play