Sunil Gavaskar Questions Wisdom of Picking Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma Over Youngsters

Despite India’s success, Sunil Gavaskar raised concerns about the selection of senior batsmen, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, and questioned the significance of their runs against the West Indies attack.

In the first Test, Virat Kohli was dismissed for 76, while Rohit Sharma scored his second overseas century. (Credits: Twitter)

The second Test between India and West Indies ended in a draw as persistent rain washed out the final day’s play. India dominated the series and clinched the series 1-0 after winning the first Test by an innings and 141 runs. Even in the second Test, the Indian team was in a commanding position before rain prevented them from taking all points on offer in the World Test Championship table. The Indian batsmen shone brightly in the series and the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Yashasvi Jaiswal all scored their respective centuries.

Ravichandran Ashwin then took over the ball and tormented the West Indies batsmen. Although the second Test ended in a draw, India showed consistency and started the new World Test Championship cycle without any setback.

Despite the team's overall success, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar raised concerns about the selection of senior batsmen Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma and even questioned the significance of their runs against the West Indies attack. Gavaskar was not very pleased with the fact that the selectors preferred established players over young talents and posed questions to the new chairman of selectors, Ajit Agarkar.

“The runs scored by Rohit and Kohli against this West Indies attack begs the question what did the selectors learn that they didn't know already. Wouldn't it have been better to try out some youngsters and see how they take to Test cricket or is it that the selectors don't want any sort of challenge from the younger lot to the established players," he wrote in his column for Mid-Day.

However, Sunil Gavaskar acknowledged Virat Kohli's efforts in the series. In the first Test, Virat Kohli was dismissed for 76, while Rohit Sharma scored his second overseas century and Jaiswal notched his debut hundred. However, Virat Kohli performed well once again and notched up his 29th Test century in his 500th international match. He played a big part in India reaching 438. Though other players like Rohit Sharma, Jaiswal, R Ashwin, and Ravindra Jadeja also scored half-centuries, Sunil Gavaskar commended Virat Kohli for his crucial role in the team’s performance.