Rohit Sharma: We will give opportunity only to players who have the hunger to play Test cricket 

Indian captain Rohit Sharma made a significant statement after the team’s triumph in the Ranchi Test against England, saying that only players who have the hunger to play the red-ball format will be given opportunities.

Claiming that it's easy to segregate cricketers who have the hunger and passion for Test cricket from those who do not, he asserted that, as of now, all the players seem to have the desired qualities.

While Rohit did not take any names, it may be noted that Ishan Kishan pulled out of the recent Test series in South Africa citing personal reasons. All-rounder Hardik Pandya too hasn’t played red-ball games for India since the tour of England in 2018.

In the ongoing Test series against England, Uttar Pradesh keeper-batter Dhruv Jurel and Mumbai middle-order batter Sarfaraz Khan have made significant contributions.

Hailing the performance of the youngsters in the series win over England, Rohit stressed on the importance of having the right mindset to play the traditional format.

"This (Test cricket) is the toughest format. And if you want success and want to excel in this tough format then you need that hunger. It is very important. We will give opportunity only to players who have that hunger. You come to know the players who don't have that hunger or players who don't want to stay here,” Rohit said at the post-match press conference.

"Players who have that hunger, players who want to stay here and perform, play in tough conditions; we will give preference to them. Obviously, it is pretty simple: if you don't have hunger, there's no meaning playing such players," the Indian captain added.

While saying that there seems to be no issue concerning passion and dedication among the current lot, Rohit made it clear that preference will be given to performers.

"At present I don't see anyone who doesn't have that hunger: those who are here in the squad and even those who are not here - every one of them wants to play. But the opportunities at this level come very few times.

"If you don't utilise that opportunity, then you lose that chance. We all have experienced that. So those players who utilise the opportunities, who make the team win, who perform for the team, obviously that is noted. That is very important," he commented.

While Sarfaraz scored half-centuries in both innings of his debut Test in Rajkot, Jurel was the Player of the Match for his 90 and 39* in Ranchi.

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“IPL is for us no doubt a good format, but Test cricket is most difficult” - Rohit Sharma

Since the super success of the Indian Premier League, there have been growing concerns about the lack of interest being shown by some players when it comes to red-ball cricket.

Recently, the BCCI even issued a diktat to centrally contracted players, warning them of consequences for ignoring domestic red-ball cricket. Sharing his views on the IPL vs red-ball cricket debate, Rohit opined:

"IPL is for us no doubt a good format, but Test cricket is the most difficult format: to achieve success and perform here is not so easy.”

He went on to praise the youngsters for putting in the hard yards in domestic cricket and converting that experience into crucial performances at the Test level.

“We have seen in these four Tests we have played, the three wins we got were not easy. We had to work hard, batsmen had to spend ample time in the middle, bowlers had to deliver longer spells. So this is a format that involves hard work,” Rohit said.

“All the hard work that they have done in the past, in the growing-up years, coming through the whole circuit of playing domestic cricket, playing the local club cricket and performing there, and then coming here… Obviously it's a big challenge to play Test cricket. We all know that. But these guys, when I look at them, when I talk to them, the responses that I get from them is quite encouraging,” he added, while concluding his thoughts on the team’s young guns.

Having lost the first Test in Hyderabad by 28 runs, India made a strong comeback to win the next three Tests and extend their unbeaten home streak to 17 series.