Rohit Sharma: When the players are available, they've got to play domestic cricket

Indian captain Rohit Sharma has made it clear that players who are not on national duty need to play domestic cricket unless they have been declared ‘unfit’ by the BCCI's medical team.

The Indian captain's comments came days after the BCCI snubbed Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer while announcing the central contracts for the 2023-24 season. Both Kishan and Shreyas are believed to have paid the price for refusing to play the Ranji Trophy. After missing the quarterfinals, Shreyas turned out for Mumbai against Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy 2024 semifinals.

At a press conference ahead of the fifth India vs England Test in Dharamsala, which begins on Thursday, March 7, Rohit reiterated the BCCI’s stance on the significance of domestic cricket.

"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 are available, if you are fit, if you're fine, it is important that we go and play that," Rohit was quoted as saying by PTI.

"It is not for just few cricketers, it is for everyone to make sure that whenever you're available, and fine, you should be able to play domestic cricket," he went on to add.

There have been mixed reviews of BCCI’s decision to leave out Kishan and Shreyas from the contracts list.

Some experts have pointed out that many other senior players have also not featured in domestic cricket recently but have been handed contracts by the cricket board.

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“Important that we give importance to domestic cricket” - Rohit Sharma

The Indian captain has been busy preparing for the Dharamsala Test but has been following the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2024 as well. Terming the games as important, he commented:

"You saw the Ranji trophy 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. It is important that we give importance to domestic cricket, which is the core of Indian cricket," Rohit concluded.

Vidarbha take on Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy 2024 final from March 10 to 14.