Former India all-rounder Kirti Azad, who was a part of the 1983 World Cup-winning team, has supported the BCCI on its diktat to make it compulsory for players to appear in the Ranji Trophy. But in addition, he also wants the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to also play domestic cricket.
The BCCI excluded Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan from the list of centrally contracted players after the duo showed their reluctance to play in the Ranji Trophy. Meanwhile, ever since their Test debuts, Virat has played only one Ranji match in 2021, and Rohit also solitary match in 2015.
“It (directive) is a very good move. Everybody should be playing Ranji Trophy cricket, but currently the emphasis is on the IPL. It is good, it is entertaining but the real cricket is the (five) days’ cricket. Playing in domestic cricket is good, it keeps you in touch. But whenever you are free, even if you’re a Rohit Sharma or a Virat Kohli, you should go back and play domestic cricket for the state,” said Azad.
“That (state) gave you the opportunity to be a player, get selected and then play for the country. Just to penalise the two is not correct, I think everybody should be penalised. Everybody should be seen with the same mirror,” Azad added.
Gavaskar & Bedi Played Ranji Regularly
Azad also cited the examples of Sunil Gavaskar and Bishan Singh Bedi, who played domestic cricket regularly, that in turn helped the youngsters perform well.
“Back in the day when we were starting our careers, players like Bishan Singh Bedi, Madan Lal, Surinder Amarnath, Mohinder Amarnath, Chetan Chauhan, Sunil Gavaskar, Sandeep Patil, Karsan Ghavri played alongside youngsters like me and Ravi Shastri. All these senior Test team players would play for their sides, would play for the pride of their state which seems missing in the youngsters nowadays,” said Azad.
