 "Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma tried getting some runs in Ranji Trophy but that experiment failed. Image: PTI")
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will be looking to rediscover their form just in time before the Champions Trophy 2025 starts and former batter Sanjay Manjrekar feels the upcoming ODI series against England offers them the best opportunity to collect some international runs.
The India vs England three-match series is Men In Blue’s final opportunity to sort out their playing XI combinations and find form ahead of the Champions Trophy 2025 that starts on 19 February.
Kohli and Rohit together managed just 221 runs from 14 innings in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy that got over last month. Looking to find some form, Rohit and Kohli also played in the Ranji Trophy recently. While Rohit scored 3 and 28 against Jammu & Kashmi r in Mumbai, Kohli managed just 6 runs in his only one innings.
After Ranji failures. Ro-Ko aim for runs in IND-ENG ODIs
Both cricketers are desperately in search of some international runs and former Indian cricketer Manjrekar feels ODI provides them the perfect opportunity as bowlers in this format are not as aggressive as they are in T20Is or Tests.
“It’s a great format for batters who are looking for some international runs. You can take your time, no bowling team is desperate to get you all out in 25 overs, so there’s a little bit of leniency in middle overs. The pressure is increasing because you can’t be really happy getting 250-270. That pressure is there. But for batters like Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli who are struggling to get runs in international cricket this is the best format to get those in and just get the monkey off your back,” Manjrekar told ESPNCricinfo.
“I am not sure it will go on to help them in future Test prospects but international runs, (this is) best format to get those.”
The first India-England ODI will be played at Nagpur on 6 February with the second and third scheduled for 9 February (Cuttack) and 12 February (Ahmedabad) respectively. India’s Champions Trophy 2025 campaign starts with a match against Bangladesh on 20 February in Dubai.