In the wake of a crushing 1-3 defeat to Australia, the Indian cricket team faces a daunting challenge. With only two Ranji Trophy matches to select the squad for the India vs England series, the BCCI selection committee is on the clock. But with uncertainty surrounding key players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja, the road to recovery seems steep.
However, only eight of the 17 players in the IND vs AUS series will play those two Ranji Trophy matches. There is no clarity on at least five players including Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja. Jasprit Bumrah and Sarfaraz Khan are out injured while Washington Sundar will be busy in IND vs ENG T20Is.
Superstars’ last Ranji Trophy
Who are playing Ranji Trophy?
The big names who will feature in the Ranji Trophy are: Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, and Yashasvi Jaiswal. Mohd Siraj may not be part of Ranji due to workload management.
While Rohit Sharma is likely to play at least one match (Mumbai vs Jammu & Kashmir), there is no word on Virat Kohli. Rohit Sharma was the worst of all. He averaged just 6.20 in five innings before the India captain dropped himself from the Sydney Test. In 15 innings this season, Rohit has averaged 10.93 including 11 single-digit scores.
Rohit at least made a statement by turning up for Mumbai’s training sessions. Whether he does play that game from January 23 or not, the embattled India captain, going back to the drawing board certainly made for good optics. Kohli, who is (or at least should) be as embattled, has apparently not even reached out to DDCA.
Who are playing Ranji, who are not?
PlayerStateGradePart of BGTPlaying Ranji?ReasonRohit SharmaMumbaiA+YesMaybeVirat KohliDelhiYesNo clarityJasprit BumrahGujaratYesNoInjuredRavindra JadejaSaurashtraYesNo clarityWorkload managementR AshwinTamil NaduAYesNoRetiredMohd ShamiBengalNoNoIND vs ENG T20IMohd SirajHyderabadYesNo clarityWorkload managementKL RahulKarnatakaYesNo clarityShubman GillPunjabYesYesHardik PandyaBarodaNoNoIND vs ENG T20ISuryakumar YadavMumbaiBNoNoIND vs ENG T20IRishabh PantDelhiYesYesKuldeep YadavUPNoNoInjuredAxar PatelGujaratNoNoIND vs ENG T20IYashasvi JaiswalMumbaiYesYesRinku SinghUPCNoNoIND vs ENG T20ITilak VermaHyderabadNoNoIND vs ENG T20IRuturaj GaikwadMaharashtraNoYesShardul ThakurMumbaiNoMaybeDepends on selectionShivam DubeMumbaiNoMaybeRavi BishnoiRajasthanNoNoIND vs ENG T20IJitesh SharmaVidarbhaNoMaybeWashington SundarTamil NaduYesNoIND vs ENG T20IMukesh KumarBengalNoYesSanju SamsonKeralaNoNoIND vs ENG T20IArshdeep SinghPunjabNoNoIND vs ENG T20IKS BharatAndhraNoYesPrasidh KrishnaKarnatakaYesYesAvesh KhanMadhya PradeshNoNoIND vs ENG T20IRajat PatidarMadhya PradeshNoYesDhruv JurelUPYesNoIND vs ENG T20ISarfaraz KhanMumbaiYesNoInjuredAkash DeepBengalYesNo clarityInjuredVijaykumar VyshakKarnatakaNoYesUmran MalikJ&KNoNo clarityInjuredYash DayalUPNoYesVidwath KaverappaKarnatakaNoYesDevdutt PadikkalKarnatakaNo contractYesYesTanush KotianMumbaiYesYesRed-ball practice elusive
The second leg of the Ranji Trophy begins on January 23 with two confirmed league matches. However, the Test regulars will not be available for the Ranji knockouts if they are selected for IND vs ENG ODIs and ICC Champions Trophy.
IND vs ENG ODI series begins on Feb 6. The last league match of Ranji Trophy ends on Feb 2. The Ranji knockouts will begin on Feb 8 with the final starting on Feb 26. That gives the Test players just two Ranji Trophy games before the white-ball season begins.
BCCI will try to arrange two practice matches before the IND vs ENG Test series starts on June 20. It will help players make the transition from white ball to red ball. However, it is unlikely that India will get any quality opponent for match practice. It will be a busy season in England. None of the County teams will be willing to field their main players for a practice game.
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In the aftermath of the disastrous Border Gavaskar Trophy, Sunil Gavaskar urged all players to play the Ranji Trophy without any excuses. BCCI has also doubled down on playing domestic cricket if a player is not injured. While it is not mandatory for senior pros like Virat, Rohit, Bumrah and Jadeja, it is up to the selectors to pick them if they decide to skip domestic matches without permission.
“It’s not been made mandatory but has been communicated to all the cricketers, even the fringe players, to play the Ranji Trophy. If they don’t, it will be up to the selectors to take suitable action,” a BCCI source told The Hindu.
Will Virat Kohli play Ranji Trophy?
With the India Test Team under pressure following poor performance in Australia, the two Ranji Trophy matches would have calmed the selectors’ nerves a bit. While Rohit has somewhat confirmed that he will play Ranji once again, there is no clarity on Kohli.
Kohli averaged 22.47 in 19 Test innings this season. While he scored a century in Australia, he followed it up with some poor scores of 7, 11, 3, 36, 5, 17, 6. He was dismissed eight times in nine innings while trying to chase a delivery outside the off stump. How he was dismissed in those innings also raised questions.
Virat Kohli would have also benefitted from grinding in domestic cricket once again and getting his touch back. He could correct his approach a bit to save the embarrassment of getting out in a similar fashion eight times. Kohli last played Ranji Trophy back in 2012.
Others like Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant are short of runs and they need that confidence back. Ranji Trophy would be the ideal platform.
Ranji Trophy tracker: Rohit Sharma almost certain to play but where is Virat Kohli? Inside Sport India.
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