Sunil Gavaskar wants Rohit Sharma to go back to Ranji Trophy

Rohit Sharma has struggled in the ongoing Test series

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar wants Rohit Sharma to go back to playing Ranji Trophy to rediscover some form in the longest format of the game, after his poor performances in the ongoing Test series against South Africa, reports NDTV.

Despite being India’s first-choice opener in both ODIs and T20s, Rohit has failed to deliver in Tests, where he has enjoyed a stop-start career. He was dismissed for a golden duck on day three of the Kotla Test, which meant his last four Test scores have been 2, 23, 1 and 0.

"After failing in Delhi Test, Rohit's position in team will be in line. But who will replace him? I feel Rohit should start playing in Ranji Trophy to get back to form in the longer format," Gavaskar told NDTV.

While Rohit drew plenty of criticism, the former Indian opener praised both Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane, for the application they showed on day three.

"Virat Kohli was positive on the third day. His partnership with Ajinkya Rahane was solid. They have put India in a strong position," he said.

Although the hosts are in a commanding position in the fourth Test, leading by 403 runs going into day 4, the form of Rohit Sharma, who was brought back for the last two Tests has been an area of concern. But India’s batting coach Sanjay Bangar dismissed those suggestions.

When talking about the shot Rohit attempted in the first innings, when he tried to clear long-on in only his sixth ball, he defended the Mumbai batsman.

Bangar said: “I want to say that the current lot that plays for India and turns out for the country are immensely talented, and committed cricketers. They work very hard to reach where they are. Surely days like these, when players make mistakes, they must be equally hurting, most committed players do.”

When asked about the right hander’s poor performances in Tests, Bangar said, “For him, he is coming off a T20 hundred, an ODI hundred, he hasn’t really got to play lot many Test matches in a row. That always plays a part as far as a batsman is concerned.

“I think as I have been saying earlier that you show faith in him, give him successive opportunities and then assess him. Whatever he has done in longer format, he would definitely want to do more.”

Gavaskar also added that the poor form of their senior players has hurt their chances of taking anything away from the ongoing Test series.

"South Africa have been handicapped by the poor performances of their senior players," he said referring to poor form of Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis.