Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli given special treatment by BCCI, Manjrekar finds big flaw

Both the players got picked up for the Chennai Test after a long-gap in red-ball cricket. Their performance in both innings of the match was also not as per their reputation. Rohit managed to score a meagre 11 runs, while Kohli scored 21 runs in his first test match after January.

However, despite the failure of the batting pillars of the team, the other senior players as well as youngsters with gritty performances made sure that the team comfortably crossed the winning mark.

As team India prepares itself for the second and final test in Kanpur, Sanjay Manjrekar pointed out that things would have been different if both Rohit and Kohli were picked up for the Duleep Trophy before the face-off with Bangladesh.

In the interview, Manjrekar said, "I'm sure somebody made a note at the fact that they would've been better off had they played some red ball cricket and there was an option of picking them for Duleep Trophy so one has to be careful about treating certain players differently and do what's best for Indian cricket and what's best for the player."

Continuing further he said, "Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli not playing wasn't good for Indian cricket nor was it good for the players. As we found out I'm sure had they played Duleep Trophy and both they had some time with the red ball in the middle things would have been slightly different, but they had the experience and the class to get back into form and see them for that reason for not being in form for the entire series they'll find ways to get runs. But something that one must make a quiet note of and that has been the problem with Indian cricket for a while is that certain players get picked out for a special treatment because of the status that they have reached with at the end hurts that icon more than anyone else."

Responding to a question on comparison between the two greats, he said "Even as players, test batters virat Kohli played a lot more test cricket he's got a much great body of work in test cricket. so that itself is where the comparison stops. but considering that they are aging players I clubbed them together or people club them together only with regards to rest before the series and that had a lot to do not so much with how much they played and who is more out of form and who need more practice. It's just because they have an iconic status and so they clubbed together. It's not based on cricketing logic."