Virat Kohli reasons why they picked Rohit Sharma over Ajinkya Rahane

Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane have been prolific run-scorers for India in international cricketer. Lately, while the former has had a decent run in Test cricket, the latter couldn’t quite garner the big scores. However, Rahane’s Test record in overseas conditions is far superior to that of Rohit Sharma.

On the eve of the opening Test against South Africa at Cape Town, Rahane was predicted to be a part of the playing XI. Nevertheless, Rohit found a place instead and his Mumbai-counterpart wasn’t included in the team, a decision by the team management which raised several eyebrows. However, Rohit faltered in both instances.

The justification by Virat Kohli

After India’s hefty defeat, Virat Kohli, the skipper, defended the decision and emphasized the importance of form in the post-match conference. “Well, we decided to go on current form. Rohit has scored runs in the last three Test matches that he has played, and he was batting well, even in the series against Sri Lanka,” Kohli remarked.

He also discussed the analysis and the permutations and combinations that were brought forth after India’s dismal show. “These things can always be looked at in hindsight thinking what if or what if not. But we decided to go with this combination and current form was definitely the criterion,” the right-handed batsman added.

India sparked flashes of brilliance during various stages of the game. The likes of Hardik Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar stepped up to ignite hopes of an Indian victory. However, the rest of the players struggled to get their acts right, following which India stumbled to a defeat by 72 runs to hand a 1-0 lead to the hosts.

They will now have to get back to the drawing board and get their combinations right before the start of the second Test at the SuperSport Park in Centurion from the 13th of March.

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