‘When the players are available, they’ve got to make themselves available to play domestic cricket’: Rohit Sharma

When Rohit Sharma spoke to media ahead of the 5th Test against England, he made it very clear that domestic cricket is an integral part and when players are not on national duty they should be participating in Domestic Cricket

After victory in the 4th Test in Ranchi, Rohit Sharma spoke to the media and he stated that India will only support players who are hungry for Test cricket. His comments appeared to imply that Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer, who were in the headlines for reportedly refusing to participate in the Ranji Trophy, lacked the passion.

Then a big breaking came in two days later that the BCCI removed Kishan and Iyer from the list of centrally contracted players for 2023-24. It mentioned:  “The BCCI has recommended that all athletes give precedence to participating in domestic cricket during periods when they are not representing the national team.”

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Rohit Sharma took a firm stand on the importance of playing Domestic Cricket

Rohit reaffirmed his point of view when questioned on the eve of the fifth Test.

He said: “There has been talk about this for a long, long time. That when the players are available, they’ve got to make themselves available to play domestic cricket, unless they have been given a certificate from the medical group that they want to be rested or will not be taking part in domestic cricket. But if you’re available, if you’re fit, if you’re fine, I think it is important that we go and play that. It is not for just a few cricketers, it is for everyone to make sure that whenever you’re available and fine, you should be able to play domestic cricket,” 

“I think it is important. You saw the Ranji Trophy semi-final that was played this week. I watched Mumbai and Tamil Nadu, obviously there was a very interesting game happening today as well, I think Vidarbha won. When games like that happen, you see the quality and everything coming into display for everyone to watch. I think it is important that we give importance to domestic cricket, which I think is the core of Indian cricket.”

Rohit and Co will be looking forward to win the 5th Test in Dharamshala

After a 10-day break, the two teams return to play the final Test of this enthralling five-match series at one of the country’s coldest venues, the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala, where the conditions will be anything but simple.The Test is significant for two players in particular. India’s Ravichandran Ashwin and England’s Jonny Bairstow will each play their 100th Test for their respective countries. In a strange coincidence, both Ashwin and Bairstow made their debuts against the West Indies. India, which is now at the top of the WTC table, has the opportunity to strengthen its position even more by winning the series with a lead of 4-1.

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