The Indian team is under constant scrutiny after losing 1-3 in the series Border Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. In adverse times, players' individual performances have repeatedly let the team down. In such a situation, the cricket community is constantly demanding that players who are not at the required level should shift their focus back to domestic cricket where they can work on their fundamentals again and perform for the team.
These demands are not without reason. Amidst the pomp and luxury of playing international and league cricket, esp Indian Premier League (IPL)some star players left their local team far behind. In light of their recent horrific performances in international cricket, here's a timeline showing when the top 5 players in the Indian team last played for their domestic team.
The latest appearance of Team India's top five stars in domestic cricket
1. Virat Kohli:
Time is steadily running out Virat Kohliwhose performance with the bat takes a turn for the worse. His record in Test cricket was particularly worrying with just 417 runs in 19 innings at a meager batting average of 24.52. Hence, there is a growing demand for the former Indian skipper to play for him Delhi in the future Ranji Trophy season. The 36-year-old last featured for Delhi during the 2012 Ranji Trophy season in the Group D match against Saurashtra.
2. Rohit Sharma:
Rohit Sharma He is another star Indian player who recently put on a horror show with the bat. The 37-year-old scored a total of 619 runs in 24 innings at a batting average of 24.76. Additionally, Rohit scored just 31 runs in 5 innings during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy which added more concerns about his batting form. While Rohit was recently seen attending training with his local team Bombay, he has not participated in a domestic cricket match since November 2015. Rohit's last match for Bombay was against Uttar Pradesh In Group B of the Ranji Trophy where he played a brilliant knock of 113 runs.
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3. Ravindra Jadeja:
Ravindra Jadeja's tour of Australia also did not reach the desired level, like the rest of the team. The all-rounder struggled with the bat and failed to make a mark throughout the series with the bowl as well. In such a situation, Jadeja needs to focus again on performing for his home team, Saurashtra, and come back to the Indian national team better. The Indian veteran played his last home match against Tamil Nadu In November 2023.
4. Shubman Gill:
With only 93 points in 5 rounds during BGT 2024-25, Shubman Gill Fans and analysts alike were disappointed with the bat. The youngster has not performed for India in recent times, which has raised a lot of buzz and questions about his repeated selection in the national team. Gill recently joined training sessions for his local team, Punjab. The 25-year-old last represented them in the Ranji Trophy quarter-final match vs Madhya Pradesh in January 2022 and has not been seen in Punjab since then.
5. Kuala Lumpur Rahul:
Aside from the heroics in Brisbane, Kuala Lumpur Rahul They were unable to save the Indian batting unit from putting up a disappointing show in their recent trip to Australia. Rahul has not been consistent with the bat for some time and as a top-order batsman has failed to stabilize the Indian innings and convert the momentum built in the long innings. Hence there is a growing demand that he needs to focus on domestic cricket and work on regaining his temperament at the international cricket level. Rahul did not play for his local team, Karnataka Since March 2020. His last appearance for the home team was during the Ranji Trophy semi-final vs Bengal As Karnataka suffered defeat by 174 runs.
