The sixth round of the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 saw India’s Test captain Rohit Sharm, opening batter Yashasvi Jaiswal, wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant, and the spin all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja turning up for their respective sides. Virat Kohli and KL Rahul missed that round of the tournament and returned for the seventh round against Railways and Haryana, respectively.
However, before the return of India’s superstars, the former captain of the national side, Sunil Gavaskar, warned the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for their rules of the importance of the player participating in domestic cricket for national selection.
The blue brigade faced a very tough time in the last few months, with a 0-3 clean sweep series defeat against New Zealand at home before another 3-1 series loss against Australia down under in the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25. Both these results disqualified the Indian side from the final qualification of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25, to be held at Lord’s in June 2025 between Australia and South Africa.
Sunil Gavaskar is interested in BCCI’s punishment for India’s players’ absence in domestic cricket
The BCCI team made a 10-point rule in the presence of captain Rohit, head coach Gautam Gambhir, and president Devajit Saikia. One of the significant factors of that was the importance of the players turning up for the domestic games whenever they were not busy with international commitments.
“Participation in Domestic Matches is mandatory for players to remain eligible for selection in the national team and for central contracts, as per BCCI guidelines. This policy ensures that players remain connected to the domestic cricket ecosystem, fostering talent development, maintaining match fitness, and strengthening the overall domestic structure.” The rule is read as quoted by the Hindustan Times.
“It also inspires emerging players by providing them opportunities to compete alongside top cricketers, ensuring continuity in talent progression. Any exceptions to this mandate will be considered only under extraordinary circumstances and will require formal notification and approval from the Chairman of the Selection Committee, ensuring fairness and transparency in the process.” The BCCI addressed.
Kohli and Rahul skipped the sixth round of the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 due to injuries. India’s former captain wasn’t available for Delhi’s clash against Saurashtra at the Niranjan Shah Stadium due to a neck spasm that he picked during the fifth and final Test of the BGT at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). Rahul was suffering from an elbow injury.
However, both have returned for their respective teams in the last group-stage game. India’s opener will be back for Karnataka against Haryana at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, while Kohli will face Railways at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on January 31.
In his recent column for Sportstar, Gavaskar wrote that he would be waiting to find the punishment an individual would have to cope with for missing the domestic game. He warned the BCCI by claiming that, of late, it had become so easy to get a medical certificate.
“More interesting would be what action the BCCI takes if they don’t play. Were they injured? Getting a medical certificate for an ‘injury’ is child’s play, and if they are injured, did they go to the NCA for treatment and recovery, as Nitish Reddy was sent the moment he had that side strain?” India’s former captain wrote.
The veteran reckoned that all the players should make it a practice to report to the Centre of Excellence after an injury and be ready to play again, only if the BCCI experts allow it.
“Isn’t that the practice for the BCCI-contracted players, that as soon as there’s an injury, they have to report to the NCA, and only after the BCCI experts there certify them as fit can they resume playing for India? For all we know, these players might have opted out of the earlier games for non-injury reasons. We shall soon find out.” Sunil Gavaskar penned down.