“Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma, playing Ranji Trophy after 12 years, how is that right?” - Indian legend’s brutal attack ahead of 2025 Champions Trophy

Former India all-rounder Kapil Dev has questioned stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma playing a Ranji Trophy game after several years in the ongoing edition of the tournament. While Kohli had not participated in a Ranji game for over 12 years, Rohit went nearly a decade without playing for Mumbai in the red-ball domestic competition.

Yet, with BCCI's fresh mandate on players playing domestic cricket when available and the duo's lack of runs in red-ball cricket for India, they played one round each of the ongoing Ranji Trophy.

While Kohli's Delhi ended up on the winning side, he scored only six runs in his lone innings against Railways. As for Rohit, he suffered a double blow as Mumbai lost to Jammu & Kashmir, with him scoring only 31 runs across the two innings.

Talking about Kohli and Rohit's recent domestic participation on YouTube channel 'Cricket Adda,' Kapil said [via Hindustan Times]:

"If you are talking about Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, playing Ranji Trophy after 12 years...how is that right? It does not look good at all. It's not because they did not perform. Whether they score runs or not, you have to score runs in domestic cricket. So yes, certain strong measures have to be taken."

He added:

"But my point is, had we won or had Rohit or Kohli scored runs, would they have played Ranji Trophy? Don't look at the performances, make the system strong. Whether you score zero or lakhs of runs, play cricket by staying within the system."

After playing a lone round of the Ranji Trophy, Kohli and Rohit returned to the Indian side for the ongoing ODI series against England ahead of the all-important Champions Trophy, starting February 19.

"If the tour is one month, they should not be allowed for the first 20 days" - Kapil Dev on Indian players' families

In the same video, Kapil Dev agreed with the BCCI's new rule on players reducing family time on tours after the disastrous Test results over the past few months.

Team India suffered back-to-back Test series defeats to New Zealand at home (0-3) and against Australia in Australia (1-3).

"Taking your wives on tours is not wrong, but I feel that if the tour is one month, they should not be allowed for the first 20 days so that the players can play together as a team. Similarly, for a three-month campaign, at least for a month players should be left alone with the team. Also team should travel together, this is not an individual sport," Kapil said.

The poor results meant India missed out on the 2025 World Test Championship (WTC) final qualification for the first time in tournament history.