Steve Waugh urges Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to play Ranji Trophy

Former Australian captain Steve Waugh has advised the veteran duo of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to play in the Ranji Trophy. Waugh reckons the duo’s presence will lift the level of domestic cricket in India.

Earlier in the year, Virat Kohli played a Ranji Trophy match for Delhi after a long hiatus and the fans had turned up in huge numbers at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi.

Meanwhile, Kohli and Rohit have retired from the red-ball version and thus they are unlikely to play in the Ranji Trophy. The experienced pair had recently played in the three-match ODI series against Australia. While Rohit had top scored in the series with 202 runs, Virat had scored 74 runs in the third ODI after bagging two ducks in the first two games.

Steve Waugh said in an interview with RevSportz, “In India, I think they should play the Ranji Trophy more. Not for the fact that it’s workload, it’s more, you know, keeping the cricket strong and giving encouragement to the younger players and getting them prepared for the next level.”

“When they play, all of a sudden, the competition is lifted, the standards get higher. So, they have a responsibility to go back and play at that domestic level as well. If they are playing for their country, then playing a couple of games for their states is not going to impact them too much. So, I’d encourage them to do that.”

The former World Cup winning captain said it is going to be challenging for Rohit and Virat to play just one format but backed the duo to succeed as they have all the experience under their belt.

He concluded, “It is a bit of a different scenario, and it will take a different mindset. But those guys are seasoned professionals and all-time great players. So, they’ll be able to adapt and modify their game to the situation.”

Rohit and Virat will be next seen in action in the three match ODI series against South Africa.