In the past few months, Team India has grappled with a lot of off-field issues. Several got injured while Virat Kohli had to miss the India vs England due to personal reasons.
Then there was the case of Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer. While Iyer played in the initial few matches for India against England, Ishan has been completely missing from action since the start of 2024.
Ishan Kishan has given domestic cricket and Test cricket a miss due to personal reasons. He has been warned by several people from team management against the approach. Both Iyer and Kishan have been asked to play Ranji Trophy matches but have still given it a miss. BCCI gave a diktat recently asking players like Ishan, and Shreyas to turn up for Ranji Trophy matches, a missive that was ignored by the duo.
Now, India skipper Rohit Sharma also had a stern message for aspirants wanting to make the national Test team without putting in the hard yards, saying that opportunities will only be given to those
putting in the hard yards, saying that opportunities will only be given to those who show “hunger for success” in the “toughest” format.
No Hunger, No Test cricket
India sealed a 17th straight Test series win at home after beating England by five wickets in the fourth Test here on Monday. New entrants like Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Akash Deep played decisive roles in the team’s overall success, leaving Rohit mighty pleased and also quite clear about the kind of talent he wants in the side.
“Jin logon ko bhookh hai, hum unhi logon ko mauka denge (We will give opportunities to only those who are hungry),” Rohit declared, making it clear that the team management is not willing to entertain players who do not display a burning desire to perform,,