“Ban players, who refuse to play in Ranji Trophy”: Rohit Sharma’s statement leads to reactions
India captain Rohit Sharma recently spoke against the players, who don’t want to play Ranji Trophy matches. He was hitting out at Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer, who refused to turn up for their sides in the ongoing domestic season. Ishan remained absent from Jharkhand’s games, while Iyer faked back inury.
Iyer has changed his stance and will appear for Mumbai in the semi-final of the Rani Trophy. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was thinking of removing Iyer and Ishan from the central contracts, forcing the former to fall in line.
Meanwhile, Rohit was asked about Test and IPL after the team’s win over England in the fourth Test in Ranchi. “We will only consider players who have hunger for Test cricket and not the ones ignoring the format. There is no place for players who don’t want to be a part of red-ball cricket.”
His statement was welcomed by cricket associations.
“I am with the Indian captain. Youngsters should be hungry to play longer format,” Abhilash Khandekar, president of Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association, told PTI. “You can’t take Ranji Trophy lightly as it is the backbone of the Indian cricket. The other domestic formats should also get the same importance.”
Former India player Dilip Vengsarkar said that BCCI’s instructions regarding participation in the Ranji Trophy could help players play better.
“Indian players play spin better by competing in Rani Trophy. If a player doesn’t want to play red-ball cricket, we have enough talent in India to replace him. No one is bigger than the game.”
Meanwhile, a state unit official, on condition of anonymity, said that India Test players should also play in Rani Trophy, a step needed to boost the confidence of upcoming cricketers. He further said that BCCI should allow the state associations to ban cricketers, who say no domestic cricket.
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