Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were going to play in the Duleep Trophy. That’s what the reports suggested a couple of days ago. That turned out to be false, but we saw a change in BCCI’s directive. For some time now, players who represented India in international cricket rarely played on the domestic circuit. Now, that is going to change, and the squads for the four Duleep Trophy teams showed that.
Why Rohit-Kohli aren’t playing in Duleep Trophy
BCCI Secretary Jay Shah talked about why the two senior pros aren’t playing in the Duleep Trophy. In a bid to manage their workload, the BCCI decided not to force Rohit and Kohli to play domestic cricket as they could get injured. Shah added that countries like England or Australia don’t force their top players to play domestic cricket and that Rohit and Kohli need to be ‘respected’.
“It doesn’t make sense to add to Virat and Rohit’s load by asking them to play domestic cricket. They run the risk of getting injured. You also need to look at England and Australia. None of their top players play domestic cricket. We must treat our players respectfully and not treat them like servants,” Jay Shah told the Times of India.
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BCCI lays down the law
All current Indian players who play first-class cricket have been selected for the 2024-25 domestic season starter. “If you look Duleep Trophy squad, apart from Rohit and Virat rest are going to play,” Shah said. One thing’s clear: you need to play domestic cricket if and when you are available.
“Whoever gets injured and goes out can only come into the Indian team after proving his fitness in domestic cricket,” the BCCI Secretary added. That means Shami might have to play some domestic cricket before he wishes to play for India. He can’t just walk into the team against Bangladesh or New Zealand; he will have to show that he’s fit by playing domestic cricket. “We have been little strict. When Ravindra Jadeja had got injured, I was the one who called him and asked him to play a domestic game.”
Pathway for Ishan Kishan
When asked how Ishan Kishan can return to the Indian cricket team, Shah simply said, “He will have to follow the rules. He will have to play domestic cricket.” The southpaw, who was dropped from the BCCI central contract for not playing Ranji Trophy earlier in the year, has course corrected after his snub and is leading Jharkhand in the red-ball tournament, Buchi Babu Invitational tournament.
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