Hindustan Times reported that Jay Shah, the secretary of the BCCI at the time, wrote a letter to all Indian cricket players in February of last year that was strictly worded. According to the letter, they had to be available for domestic cricket whenever they were healthy and not on national duty. Even “serve implications” if not properly followed were discussed. The most notable instances of the “severity” Shah’s letter referred to were players like Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer, who both lost their central contracts for failing to make themselves available for domestic cricket without providing a valid reason. However, it seems that some Team India senior members were unaffected by it.
If not, how would you account for the extended absence of pacer Mohammed Siraj, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, captain Rohit Sharma, and star batsman Virat Kohli from domestic cricket?
Sachin Tendulkar was still playing international cricket, 12-year-old Shubman Gill was in school, and Dr. Manmohan Singh was India’s prime minister when Virat Kohli last played domestic cricket. Actually, in November 2012, Kohli stopped playing domestic cricket. It’s not that. Tendulkar’s final Ranji trophy appearance was in October 2013, which is one year prior to Kohli’s last appearance in Ranji.
In Frame: Virat Kohli
Rohit Sharma, the captain, has little better luck. In September 2016, he made his final appearance for Mumbai. Siraj last played for Hyderabad in 2020, and Jadeja last played domestic cricket in 2023.
The Duleep Trophy squad was made up of elite Indian cricket players, and the only players not to participate were Kohli, Rohit, Ashwin (now retired), and Bumrah. Since Bumrah is a unique case who needs the best care, it is easy to understand why he was excluded. What about the others, though?
Additionally, the names of Mohammed Siraj and Ravindra Jadeja were removed at the last minute due to workload management. Interestingly, it took place prior to India’s lengthy home season. India had not played Test cricket for over a month, and Rohit, Kohli, and Jadeja were all retired from Twenty20 Internationals.
READ MORE:- Virat and Rohit’s absence from domestic cricket
