'Rohit aur Virat ko touch nahi kar payenge': Ravichandran Ashwin backs Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli

Ravichandran Ashwin has publicly defended the continued selection of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli for India, pointing to their long careers and the strong support they receive from fans. He also observed that bowlers do not enjoy a comparable level of public backing.

Ashwin’s comments come amid renewed discussion about team selection after Rohit Sharma responded to retirement talk by scoring a century against England. The spinner highlighted the duo’s sustained achievements and popularity as reasons for their retention. The captain stated that external criticism has always been part of his career.

Ashwin emphasised that the reputations Rohit and Virat have built over years make them secure figures within the national setup. He noted that their career records and the sizeable fan base around them factor into selection debates. According to Ashwin, these elements differentiate the level of scrutiny faced by leading batsmen from that encountered by bowlers.

The bowler’s remarks also touched on a broader perception of support in Indian cricket, with Ashwin pointing out that bowlers rarely receive the same public backing as high-profile batsmen. That view framed his defence of Rohit and Virat, arguing that public sentiment plays a role in how players are assessed beyond raw performances. Ashwin’s stance places emphasis on intangible factors such as legacy and fan engagement.

Rohit’s recent century against England served as a prompt for the discussion, effectively quieting speculation about his international future. Ashwin used that innings as evidence of Rohit’s ongoing value to the team, reinforcing the idea that form and history together justify continued selection. The spinner contrasted that situation with the relative invisibility of bowlers in public conversations about team composition.

Ashwin’s intervention underlines a tension within selection discourse: how to balance current performance with past contribution and public sentiment. By explicitly backing Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, he has added a prominent voice to the conversation around the experienced batsmen’s places in the side. The captain stated that external criticism has always been part of his career.