India's 1983 World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev feels Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli know when they have to play and when they have to call it time to their International careers. Rohit and Kohli's poor returns with the bat have put them under the scanner with ropes slipping out of their hands quickly.
Rohit had a horrific tour of Australia when he made only 31 runs in three Tests, while Kohli made 190 in nine innings. Rohit had dropped himself for the fifth Test in Sydney owing to his bad form. While Rohit has said that he is not going anywhere, speculations over his future are rife.
Former India skipper Dev opened up on the duo. "How can I comment on the judgement of others? I think the selectors would have though about it...So, if I say something it would be criticising them. I don't want to criticise them. They are a group of people who must have planned and thought about that," Kapil Dev said.
"They are very big players. Let's hope when they think it's the right time to play, when they think it's not, they will call it off," he added.
Shastri had recently said that he see Virat playing for 3 or 4 years, however, he felt Rohit needs to take a call. “Virat will play for some time, forget the way he got out today. I think he will play for 3 or 4 more years. As far as Rohit is concerned, it’s a call. At the top of the order, his footwork isn’t the same. He is probably, at times, a little late in meeting the ball. So it’s his call at the end of the series."
A former selector believed that the current selection committee might find it hard to pick the two stalwarts based on IPL performance. "It would be very hard for selectors to pick either Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli on the basis of IPL performance or form. There has to be some red-ball cricket for them in the lead-up to the England tour. Else you can't justify their selections," the former selectors told PTI.
There is a red-ball domestic season coming in India with the resumption of the Ranji Trophy. Kohli is a Delhi player. Delhi have a clash against Saurashtra from January 23-26 in Rajkot. However, it does not look likely that he will play in the tournament in January for the selection of the series that will be played in June.
