The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday announced the four squads for the upcoming Duleep Trophy tournament, which will be played between September 5 and 24 in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, and M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. The squads comprise 61 players, including some of the top stars from international cricket, like Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul and some of the young and emerging talent.
Earlier this year, BCCI had issued a mandate saying that every player has to make themselves available for domestic tournaments when not on national duty, failing which they would face dire consequences. Shreyas Iyer, then reportedly out with an injury, and Ishan Kishan, out on mental-health break, were not handed a fresh contract after they did not adhere to the directives.
Following the T20 World Cup, BCCI secretary Jay Shah reiterated the same rule. Hence, as India entered a rare 42-period break from international cricket following the conclusion of the Sri Lanka tour on August 7, all players were urged to make themselves available for the upcoming domestic season which will begin with the Duleep Trophy next month, which is said to play a key role in selectors picking the squad for the impending Bangladesh Test series.
Speaking to Times of India, Shah recalled that when Jadeja had injured his knee during the 2022 Asia Cup, he had called him up and informed that in a bid to stage a comeback post recovery, he would have to play in domestic cricket to prove himself. Jadeja later turned up for Saurashtra in the 2022/23 Ranji Trophy season before making the Indian Test squad for the the home series against Australia.
Shah, hence, added that barring the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, every player will have to turn up for Duleep Trophy.
“We have been little strict. When Ravindra Jadeja had got injured, I was the one who called him and asked him to play a domestic game. It’s certain now, whoever gets injured and goes out, can only come into the Indian team after proving his fitness in domestic cricket. But it doesn’t make sense to add to Virat and Rohit’s load by asking them to play domestic cricket. They run the risk of getting injured. You also need to look at England and Australia. None of their top players play domestic cricket. We must treat our players respectfully and not treat them like servants. If you look Duleep Trophy squad, apart from Rohit and Virat rest are going to play. It’s because of the harsh steps I have taken, Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan are playing Duleep Trophy,” he said.
