The Indian Cricket Board has mandated that players participate completely in home events when they are not representing Team India. Former Indian wicketkeeper Kirti Azad supports this new direction. Recently, Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer were cut from their Indian Cricket Board yearly contracts. This is because they were not playing in the current Ranji Trophy matches.
He said, “It (directive) is a very good move. Everybody should be playing Ranji Trophy cricket, but currently the emphasis is on the IPL. It is good, it is entertaining but the real cricket is the (five) days’ cricket. Playing in domestic cricket is good, it keeps you in touch. But whenever you are free, even if you’re a Rohit Sharma or a Virat Kohli, you should go back and play domestic cricket for the state.”
The former right-handed batter said, “That (state) gave you the opportunity to be a player, get selected and then play for the country. Just to penalise the two (Iyer and Kishan) is not correct, I think everybody should be penalised. Everybody should be seen with the same mirror.”
After making his Test debut, Kohli has only participated in one Ranji match (in 2021), and Rohit hasn’t played for his state in red-ball cricket since 2015. Shreyas last appeared in the second Test of the present series against England. Kishan was included in the Indian team for the December tour of South Africa last year.
“They are playing T20 cricket, nowadays” : Team India WC winner Kirti Azad
Kirti Azad responsed to a query on the possibility of Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan rejoining the Indian team. He also questioned their ability to play domestic cricket. The winner of the 1983 World Cup demonstrated how much the former athletes cherished representing their respective states.
The former Team India wicket-keeper said, “My question is, are they playing enough domestic cricket? They are playing T20 cricket, nowadays and every other state has a T20 cricket league. Back in the days when we were starting our careers, players like Bishan Singh Bedi, Madan Lal, Surinder Amarnath, Mohinder Amarnath, Chetan Chauhan, Sunil Gavaskar, Sandeep Patil, Karsan Ghavri played alongside youngsters like me and Ravi Shastri.”
