Not included in the Duleep Trophy are star Indian hitters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Shah clarified that the selectors requested a break in order to better manage their workload. He went on to say that they run the risk of getting hurt, something India cannot afford considering that they have two important series against England and Australia coming up in the coming year.
Earlier in the year, Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were removed from their central contracts by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Notably, Kishan chose to forego the entire domestic red-ball calendar, which upset BCCI officials and chief selector Ajit Agarkar, while Iyer opted to skip Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy semi-final match citing a back spasm.
Jay Shah, the secretary of the BCCI, recently admitted that he had taken both of these cricket players out of the central contract as a warning.
They’ve returned to red-ball cricket after receiving severe punishment, he said, and have signed up for the Duleep Trophy, which starts on September 5.
Shah made it clear that any player who is injured and is left off the Test squad will need to demonstrate his worth once more on the domestic scene in order to be called up to the national side. He used Ravindra Jadeja as an example, who is the only cricket player with an A+ grade to have been in the Duleep Trophy.
“If you look at the Duleep Trophy squad, everyone except Virat and Rohit will be playing. Jay Shah stated Times of India, “Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan are playing Duleep Trophy because of the harsh steps I have taken.”
“We were a touch too rigid. I was the one who contacted Ravindra Jadeja to invite him to play a domestic game after he had sustained an injury. Now that’s confirmed, an injured player may only rejoin the Indian team after demonstrating his fitness in domestic cricket, the speaker continued.
It makes no sense to urge Virat and Rohit to play domestic cricket in order to add to their workload: Jay Shah
Asking Virat and Rohit to play domestic cricket is a ridiculous way to add to their already heavy workload. There’s a chance they could get hurt. You should also have a peek at Australia and England.
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Their best players don’t participate in domestic cricket. Shah stated, “We have to treat our athletes with dignity and not like servants.