Manjrekar sends clear message to Agarkar regarding Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli: ‘How long to play, is upto selectors’

India crumbled to a defeat against Australia in the fifth and final Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test match in Sydney, losing the series 1-3. India’s campaign was filled with controversy, where fans saw Virat Kohli have a meltdown with Australian reporters in an airport, and then the former captain also had a shoulder bump controversy with Sam Konstas. Meanwhile, senior spinner R Ashwin announced his immediate retirement after getting dropped in the third Test. India's Rohit Sharma (R) gestures next to Virat Kohli.(AFP)

Meanwhile, the captain’s form was put under the spotlight. Rohit Sharma missed the first Test in Perth due to paternity leave and India won the match. On his return ahead of the second fixture, it went downhill for the visitors. The India opener managed to register only 31 runs in five innings at 6.20, before opting out of the final Test in Sydney. He has been in poor form since September in Tests, scoring only 164 runs in eight innings.

Since his exclusion from the playing XI for the fifth Test, theories have been thrown into the picture by fans and former players, with many feeling that he could retire from Tests, or lose his spot permanently in the playing XI. Meanwhile, even Virat Kohli has come under fire for poor form. Other than his ton in Perth, the batter has failed, especially to Scott Boland.

Sanjay Manjrekar's message to Ajit Agarkar

Taking to X, former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar joined the bandwagon, and made a statement on Rohit and Kohli’s future. He wrote, “When to retire, is upto the player but how long to play, is upto the selectors.”

Manjrekar’s tweet comes after he recently said that if the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee continue to back Rohit and Virat Kohli, then the pair should play some county cricket ahead of the Test series in England.

Rohit has already clarified publicly that he won’t be retiring from Tests. Speaking to Star Sports on Day 2 of the fifth Test, he slammed his critics over their words on his form He said, “I am confident things will change. At the same time, I have to be realistic as well. At the same time, some person is sitting with a mic, laptop or a pen and writing stuff; our lives do not change because of what that person is writing or saying.”

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