‘Lack of Motivation’ cited by Indian cricketers after pulling out of Duleep Trophy despite orders by BCCI

Indian cricket team lost their first home series in a while against New Zealand. The last series loss was in 2012 to England but what made the loss more hurtful was the 3-0 whitewash. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had asked the senior members of the team to take part in the Duleep Trophy 2024 edition. 

According to reports carried by Indian Express, the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and R. Ashwin were initially set to play in the tournament. Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and senior batter Virat Kohli though pulled out and gave the reason as ‘Lack of Motivation’. 

In hindsight, the move backfired for both the batters as the two failed to deliver with the bat. India’s two veteran batters scored just a single half-century during the series but had a home season to forget in general. 

Sunil Gavaskar slams Indian team for missing Duleep Trophy 

Former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar, during his chat with the Indian Express, wasn’t happy with the players. India’s batting legend said that the players shouldn’t have missed the Duleep Trophy tournament. 

The 74-year-old said, “They should have had some practice, definitely. It’s a long gap. I know we beat Bangladesh and therefore, it looked as if it was going to be a cakewalk against New Zealand.” 

India's former skipper also said, “But New Zealand, obviously, had a better attack, with cricketers who have played in India and in the IPL, who have a sense of what Indian pitches do.”

According to reports doing the rounds, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, R. Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have played their last home together. The board has plans to phase out the four members of the team if they fail to qualify for the WTC Finals. 

India’s tour of Australia could be the last chance for the senior members of the team. The quartet have been struggling with the bat and ball during the recently concluded season against Bangladesh and New Zealand on Sunday. Ajit Agarkar was seen chatting with coach Gautam Gambhir at the end of the series which caused a lot of speculation.