A former cricketer named Aakash Chopra has asked the BCCI and national selectors to be tougher in how they choose players who skip domestic tournaments like the Ranji Trophy on purpose. Some young Indian players are not playing in the Ranji Trophy. Instead, they hope that playing well in the IPL will get them into the national team.
Chopra talked about players like Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane. Even though they are not in the Test team anymore, they still play in the Ranji Trophy. Chopra thinks it’s important for young players to play in domestic tournaments like Ranji Trophy, even if they are doing well in the IPL.
It’s been said that the BCCI wants all cricketers who are not in the national team and not getting treatment at the NCA to play in the upcoming Ranji Trophy matches. This decision came after news that Ishan Kishan wasn’t available to play for Jharkhand, even though he wasn’t needed for national team duty.
Chopra thinks playing in first-class cricket is really important if you want to get picked for the Indian team. He wants the board to make sure players take part in domestic tournaments. He believes that the national selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, will be very clear about this and will tell players they’ll only be considered for the national team if they play in first-class cricket.
Chopra said, “If first-class cricket is happening and you’re fit but not in the Indian team, go and play. If you think you’ll just come back without playing, the selection committee needs to make it clear that you’ll only be considered if you actually play. If they’re making this rule, they should make it even stricter.”