January 23, Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India]: On the first day of the Ranji Trophy match against Jammu & Kashmir in Mumbai on Thursday, team skipper Rohit Sharma was removed for only three runs, continuing his dismal batting trend. Rohit’s string of poor performances continued as he was dismissed by pacer Umar Nazir Mir after facing 19 deliveries.

In November 2015, Rohit made his last appearance for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy, scoring a scorching 113 off 140 balls against Uttar Pradesh in a match that ended in a tie.

Rohit’s recent performances in Test cricket have sparked questions about his form. The veteran opener scored only 31 runs in five innings during three Test matches during India’s tour to Australia.

For Rohit, the 2024–25 Test season was quite frustrating. In eight games and 15 innings, he amassed only 164 runs at an average of 10.93. His best score was 52, a single half-century against Bangladesh.

Rohit had to overcome some formidable obstacles in his role as captain. India lost 0–3 against New Zealand in their first home Test series loss in 12 years before to the Test series against Australia. Additionally, this was India’s first home Test series whitewash since 2000.

Following the birth of his second kid, Rohit returned to the squad after India defeated Australia by 295 runs in the first Test match played in Perth, led by Jasprit Bumrah.

On January 20, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) made public the senior selection committee’s choice to include Rohit.

Rohit’s batting partner in red-ball cricket for India, young southpaw Yashasvi Jaiswal, was also removed early; he scored only four runs when Auqib Nabi trapped him leg before wicket. Mumbai was devastated by the dismissals of the two players in their first innings.

Shubman Gill, the captain of Punjab during their match against Karnataka, too had a difficult game. The difficult day for India’s top cricket players in the domestic competition was further highlighted by the fact that the star batter could only muster 4 runs before being removed by Abhilash Shetty.

The Indian players’ individual Ranji Trophy matches got off to a far from perfect start, which begs the issue of how they will perform going forward in the domestic season.