Massive crowds flocked the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Wednesday as former India captain Rohit Sharma took to the field in the Vijay Hazare Trophy match for Mumbai against Sikkim.
Fans chanted the name of the T20I World Cup-winning captain, even outside the stadium, with one
Not only Sharma, but other superstars of Indian cricket like Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill are also adding more star power to the national-level One-Day championship tournament.
With Kohli and Sharma now only playing ODI cricket and both eyeing a spot in the Indian squad for the 2027 ODI World Cup, the veteran duo need to show the selectors that they are still sharp between the wickets.
Although Sharma will get a boost with the massive support Jaipur is showing for him, Kohli will miss the love of Bengalureans as the Delhi vs Andhra match will not be held at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, and instead the BCCI Center of Excellence in the city will serve as its venue, with the match taking place behind closed doors.
The omission of Gill, who was the vice captain of India’s T20I squad, from the T20 World Cup team and the inclusion of Ishan Kishan, thanks to his stellar Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy outing, is a grim pointer to what might happen with Kohli and Rohit if runs don’t flow easily from their bats.
Will new bowlers emerge?
Another issue in the ongoing tournament can be the interest of selectors in spotting young bowlers, particularly pacers.
Since Mohammed Siraj came through the Ranji Trophy circuit a few years back, no young talent has been able to produce compelling outings to break into the established Indian pace order.
Even the support line — consisting of Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana and Akash Deep — has not been consistent enough.
In that context, Gurjapneet Singh (Tamil Nadu), Gurnoor Brar (Punjab), Yudhvir Singh (J&K), Anuj Thakral (Haryana) and Sakib Hussain (Bihar) etc will evoke keen interest from the selectors.
