Rohit Sharma backs BCCI's decision amid Ishan Kishan-Shreyas Iyer saga

Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan lost their BCCI annual central contracts after skipping the Ranji Trophy.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma has backed BCCI’s emphasis on playing domestic cricket. The right-handed batter feels that unless a player is engaged in national duty or has been declared ‘unfit’ by the BCCI’s medical team, they must feature in domestic tournaments as it is the ‘core’ of the game in the country. 

The BCCI made a strong statement by removing Indian stars Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer from the central contracts list for 2023–2024. The move came after both players ignored the apex body’s instruction to play in the Ranji Trophy for their respective teams and instead were spotted preparing for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). 

Ahead of the fifth test match between India and England in Dharamshala, skipper Rohit Sharma addressed the media at the pre-match press conference where he highlighted the importance of Indian domestic cricket.

“This talk has been going around for a long, long time. When players are available to play domestic cricket – unless they are given certificates from the medical group about rest or injury issues – and they are fit and fine, it is important to go and play domestic cricket,” Rohit Sharma said on Wednesday during the pre-match press conference.

“It’s not for a few cricketers, but for everyone. I watched the Mumbai vs Tamil Nadu Ranji Trophy semifinal and today also, there was an interesting game which Vidarbha won (against Madhya Pradesh). When games like that happen, you see the quality on display and it’s important that we give importance to domestic cricket, which is the core,” Sharma added.

The ongoing five-match test series against England has once again brought focus to the Ranji Trophy after the likes of Sarfaraz Khan, Rajat Patidar, Dhruv Jurel and Akash Deep made their test debuts for the Indian national side following their great outings in domestic cricket.

The batter also backed youngsters and said that they were picked in the Indian team because they knew their game well.

“These players are picked because they have the game. They have the talent, they can hold the bat, play a cover-drive or a flick. And can bowl well. Once they are coming here, a little bit of nurturing is necessary because you need to know what weapon to use in what situation. All these things, you get to learn in international cricket. You are here because you have the game, the basic foundation of cricket — whether it is batting or bowling, that you have — but once you are here you have to build on it. And in that, our role is to help them understand a situation, how to react in a certain situation. Only if they are here, they get to learn,” the skipper stated.

Rohit Sharma feels that the young Indian batters will make mistakes, but with more exposure they will get better and better. Middle-order batter Rajat Patidar has looked a bit scratchy, while Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel have made their opportunities count in the absence of senior players like Shreyas Iyer, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul. 

“If you are going out in a certain situation, you are prone to make mistakes. You might play a bad shot in a pressure situation and get out and it might look bad, and the analysis that is done on you might be bad. But in all those things, you have to learn and ensure not to repeat the same mistake in a similar situation again. The way our youngsters have responded, it has worked well for us,” he reflected.

“But we have to expect that they will make mistakes in future and we should not overreact when that happens. I think it is important to give them that understanding that these things are normal, it happens. Everyone has done it. It is not like, where someone was in a situation and didn’t make mistakes. It has happened. But it is important to learn from those mistakes so that you don’t do it again…” the Indian captain said.

India are currently leading five-match series 3-1 and the fifth test against England will be played at the HPCA stadium in Dharamshala from March 7-11.

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