'Whoever played got out. It's become a new story': Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant's Ranji failures assessed by ex-IND star

Rohit Sharma, who endured a tough Australia tour, had a forgettable return in Ranji Trophy, scoring 19-ball 3 in the first innings against Jammu and Kashmir.

Former cricketer Aakash Chopra shared his assessment of the senior Indian players' Ranji Trophy round 6 performance as several stars failed to live up to the expectations on their return to the domestic red-ball tournament. After a disappointing red-ball season, the BCCI told the senior players to take the Ranji route to regain some rhythm, but it has been very productive for most of them so far. The likes of Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant had forgettable outings with the bat.

Mumbai batter Rohit Sharma walks off the field after his dismissal during the first day of the Ranji Trophy cricket match between Mumbai and Jammu and Kashmir. (PTI)

Rohit, who endured a tough Australia tour, had a forgettable return in the Ranji Trophy, scoring 19-ball 3 in the first innings against Jammu and Kashmir. He gave a far better account of himself to notch up a fluent 28 in the second innings, his best in first-class cricket since a 52 in the second innings of the Bengaluru Test against New Zealand last year.

Chopra also talked about Mumbai's struggle against J&K despite having a star-studded batting line-up.

"The match was happening very close to my home. You might be thinking what am I talking about. I am talking about the Mumbai vs J&K match, and at the time of recording, Mumbai are struggling and how. The team has Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube and Shardul Thakur," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

'Runs aren't being scored in the Ranji Trophy'

Meanwhile, Chopra also discussed the below-par performances of Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant in their respective matches. Star wicketkeeper-batter Pant failed to fire for Delhi on Ranji's return, managing scores of 1 and 17 in both innings as Delni lost the match within two days.

"They are a powerhouse, and J&K have jolted them in both innings. Everyone went to play in the Ranji Trophy, it's only about Mumbai, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, and Rajat Patidar were playing, it was a long list, but whoever played, got out. It's incredible. Runs aren't being scored in the Ranji Trophy. It's become a new story," Chopra added.

Ravindra Jadeja was the one Indian player who made the most out of playing in the Ranji Trophy and finished with the figures of 5/66 in the first innings and 7/38 in the second innings.