It’s confirmed! Rohit Sharma has decided to return to domestic cricket after almost a decade, as the Indian captain is set to play Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy match against Jammu and Kashmir, starting January 23. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been adamant about players to feature in domestic cricket when available and fit. The cricketing body cracked a whip on the players, coming up with numerous SOPs, including a non-negotiable stance on players to play domestic cricket. The likes of Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal have all confirmed their availability. Joining the bandwagon is India’s Test captain Rohit, who faced wrath after his horrible show with the bat in the recent Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT).
Rohit Sharma return to Ranji Trophy a big news for India cricket
Back in September last year, BCCI named every Indian superstar in Duleep Trophy squads. However, exceptions were Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah. While Bumrah was compromised due to workload management, Rohit and Kohli stood out due to personal reasons. The calls for “star culture” were loud among fans. Coincidentally, both veteran’s form took a massive hit. While Kohli endured a lean patch in India and in Australia, Rohit’s form was so bad that he had to drop himself from the fifth Sydney Test.
The numbers didn’t lie. Rohit Sharma amassed only 164 runs in 15 innings in the latter half of 2024. For a player of his caliber, these stats were shockingly subpar. His struggles began in the home series against Bangladesh and New Zealand and only worsened on the bouncy tracks Down Under. All these, coupled with losses in Adelaide and Melbourne, piled up Rohit, who seemingly announced his sayonara to the toughest format in the sport.
Ranji Trophy return means Rohit to play ENG vs IND Tests?
A return to Ranji Trophy could mean that Rohit Sharma wants to continue his Test match run. While playing the Ranji game would definitely help him get in the groove for the upcoming white-ball season, it surely brings up a sign that Rohit hasn’t given up yet. If he rediscovers his form, scoring runs in the upcoming games, we might just see Rohit captaining India in the next five-match Test series against England away from home. While all this is a long shot, the focus should be on his Ranji Trophy game, that will be played on January 23 against J&K at the BKC Ground in Mumbai. Rohit confirmed his availability during India’s press conference for the announcement of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
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