'Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli Should Also Play Ranji Trophy': 1983 WC Winner Dubs Iyer, Kishan Punishment Unfair

‘rohit sharma, virat kohli should also play ranji trophy’: 1983 wc winner makes colossal remark

The BCCI made a strong statement after they dropped Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan from the annual contract. It all started when Ishan Kishan pulled out of the Test series against South Africa. India coach Rahul Dravid advised Ishan to play domestic cricket before returning to team India. However, Kishan skipped Jharkhand’s Ranji matches and instead went to Baroda to practice with the Pandya brothers.

The BCCI issued a stern ultimatum to all their contracted players to play Ranji Trophy when they are not part of the national team. Shreyas Iyer was dropped from the Test squad following a lean run in the first two Tests against England but he too did not play the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal against Baroda.

Iyer informed the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) that he is suffering the back spasms, however, the NCA head of sports science, Nitin Patel, revealed that Iyer has no new injury concerns. Even though Iyer made himself available for the Ranji trophy semifinal against Tamil Nadu, the damage was already done.

The BCCI was irked with the players and dropped them from the annual contract. The apex body confirmed that Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were not considered for the contract. This was a massive statement by the BCCI that no player can pick and choose the formats they want to play.

Member of the 1983 World Cup-winning team, Kirti Azad, appreciated BCCI’s directive for players and said that even Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli should play domestic cricket when free.

“It (directive) is a very good move. Everybody should be playing Ranji Trophy cricket, but currently the emphasis is on the IPL. It is good, it is entertaining but the real cricket. Playing in domestic cricket is good, it keeps you in touch,”

“But whenever you are free, even if you’re a Rohit Sharma or a Virat Kohli, you should go back and play domestic cricket for the state. That (state) gave you the opportunity to be a player, get selected and then play for the country,” Azad said to PTI.

Azad further said that punishing just Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan wasn’t right, adding that all players who did not play domestic cricket should be punished.

“Just to penalise two is incorrect. I think everybody should be penalised. Everyone should be seen with the same mirror,” he added.