The Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Jay Shah has made a big statement on the players not participating in the ongoing Ranji Trophy tournament. Players like Ishan Kishan, Deepak Chahar and Krunal Pandya, who are away from the Indian cricket team currently, are inactive in the Ranji Trophy.
Shah has called it a “significant issue” and has said that he will be writing to the players to participate in the Ranji Trophy. “It is a significant issue. I will be writing to all the players tomorrow. If your captain and coach instruct you to play, you must comply and participate in red-ball cricket. This directive applies to all players who are not at the National Cricket Academy (NCA). We will ensure that injured players do not risk aggravating their injuries by playing red-ball cricket and jeopardizing their chances in white-ball cricket. However, this directive applies to all young and fit players,” Shah said.
Ishan Kishan has been away from the Indian team after pulling out from the South Africa tour. He was not part of the Afghanistan series and has not been picked for the England Tests with head coach Rahul Dravid stating that Kishan needs to play some cricket to come back into the team. Shah indirectly made his thoughts clear on Ishan but did not single out any player. “He is a youngster… there is no need to mention his name. This directive applies to all players, including those under contract. Going forward, all players will have no choice but to participate in domestic cricket,” the secretary added.
Shah also said that a new selector, for which BCCI advertised recently, would be appointed soon. “The team for the Test series is picked. After this, there is no international assignment. There is the IPL. But we will finalise the process, sooner than later,” he said.