The BCCI has taken a stringent move against Players who have been out of action for long & waiting for the IPL to commence. To ensure players don’t waste their time by just sitting idle without playing any form of cricket, the BCCI along with selectors has made players’ participation in the next round of Ranji Trophy 2024 mandatory.
The Board conveyed their directive to the players via email on Monday which will apply to all those players who are not currently participating in the England Test series or undergoing rehabilitation at the NCA in Bengaluru. With immediate effect, the players have to join the state teams for the upcoming round of Ranji Trophy matches commencing on February 16.
This development will directly have an impact on players such as Ishan Kishan who have taken a break from competitive cricket inorder to prepare for the cash-rich league IPL. Ishan is currently training in Baroda & he will have to join his home team Jharkhand for their next fixture against Rajasthan in Jamshedpur as per the board’s directive.
This ruling will consider other players like Krunal Pandya and Deepak Chahar, who have been inactive in Ranji Trophy matches, and even individuals like Shreyas Iyer, who have been excluded from the national team for poor form.
Talking about the stringent mandate issued by the BCCI, an Official said that the Players cannot simply prioritize Intenrational Cricket or the IPL. They will have to play domestic cricket & honor their commitments with their state teams.
It has been the trend in the Indian Cricket team that players not selected for any bilateral series or tournaments are not even participating in domestic tournaments ignoring their commitments with State teams. So to stop this trend BCCI has taken a strict step to make participation in the Ranji Trophy mandatory.
BCCI is unhappy with Ishan Kishan’s Indiscipline behaviour
Coming to Ishan Kishan the Jharkhand wicket-keeper batter has been out of action since December 2023 just before the Test Series against South Africa. He was a part of India’s Test team & was set to play the Tests as well. But Ishan requested BCCI for a break as he has been traveling continuously with the team since Asia Cup 2023 & needs some time to rest & rejuvenate.
As per reports, BCCI requested him to play in the South Africa Test series but he didn’t stay back & took a break. Since then Ishan Kishan hasn’t found his way back into the team. Adding to the complexities, Ishan skipped Ranji matches & chose to train in a private capacity in Baroda for the IPL 2023 which didn’t go well with the BCCI & current team management.
Further reports are also stated to come in about Kishan’s indiscipline & poor behavior due to which he was not named in the T20I Series against Afghanistan at home. After Ishan’s exclusion from Afghanistan T20Is, Coach Rahul Dravid stated that Kishan needed to play domestic cricket to get his place back in the Indian lineup. Kishan was not available for selection, he had added. Despite Dravid’s statement, it was not confirmed whether Kishan was being dropped for his indiscipline.
BCCI vs Ishan Kishan: Know all about the Tussel
As per reports, BCCI was upset with Ishan Kishan because firstly he straight away went to the Dubai party after asking for a break. Not only that he also purposely avoided participation in the Ranji Trophy fixtures & missed five matches for his home team Jharkhand. When asked the Jharkhand team management about Ishan’s availability, the JSCA Secretary said that Ishan Kishan had not communicated anything about his availability in the Ranji Trophy & would soon feature in their Playing XI. But later Ishan was seen training at Kiran More Academy in Baroda along with Hardik & Krunal Pandya.
This act of Ishan missing Ranji matches & making IPL a priority was not liked by the board at all. Ishan’s irresponsible act & neglect of national & state responsibilities have forced BCCI to make it mandatory for National Players to play in the next round of the Ranji Trophy if they eye a place in the national team.
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