Ishan Kishan‘s decision to not play Ranji Trophy and train privately has compelled the BCCI to come up with a new directive regarding the players’ participation in domestic cricket.
In recent times, several players have opted to skip the Ranji Trophy and train alone to prepare for the IPL. The issue was highlighted after Ishan Kishan decided to train with Hardik and Krunal Pandya in Baroda instead of joining the Jharkhand team for the ongoing Ranji Trophy.
Even though India head coach Rahul Dravid made it clear that the wicketkeeper-batsman will have to play domestic cricket to become eligible for selection in the national team, he decided against it. Unimpressed with Ishan Kishan as well as a few other players not giving priority to domestic cricket, the BCCI has now made it mandatory for players to play for their state teams.
Play domestic cricket for IPL: BCCI
The BCCI could introduce stricter measures for the players to ply their trade in the Ranji Trophy. According to a report in India Today, the BCCI could make it mandatory for the players to play a minimum number of Ranji Trophy games to be eligible for the IPL as well as its auction.
The report further stated that the BCCI officials have already told Kishan to play in Jharkhand’s next Ranji Trophy game which is against Rajasthan and will begin on February 16. A BCCI official has said that the players could pay a big price for not playing in Ranji Trophy. He stated that they could miss the entire IPL if they do not prioritize playing in India’s premier first-class competition.
“The decision-makers in BCCI are well aware that some players don’t want to play any red ball cricket. If they are out of the Indian team, they would at best play a few Mushtaq Ali T20 games and then not report for state team duty during red ball season,” a senior BCCI official told PTI.
“To rein in such players, the board in all likelihood will make it mandatory to play 3-4 Ranji Trophy games, failing which, they can’t play IPL or even appear in IPL auction if released by their franchise. The state units feel unless the diktat comes from the top of BCCI, some of the young stars will treat the Ranji Trophy with disdain.
“We can understand Hardik Pandya’s case as his body can’t take the rigors of red ball cricket. He can’t withstand the workload of Test cricket and India needs him fit for ICC events. But some of the other youngsters, whenever you call them, will cite that they are currently doing physio work. There needs to be a stop somewhere,” the official added.
