On the eve of the fifth Test in Dharamsala, Rohit Sharma attended the press conference, answering different queries from the reporters.
The contract snub of Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer has been a significant talking point since last week, and talks will not stop anytime soon. Numerous former cricketers and experts have shared their views while suggesting options to stop players from preferring IPL over domestic cricket, especially the Ranji Trophy.
On the eve of the fifth Test in Dharamsala, Rohit Sharma attended the press conference, answering different queries from the reporters. While discussing the ongoing contract snub matter, the Indian captain reinforced the need for Indian players to feature in 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.”
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Adding to his point, Rohit clarified that the rule applies to everyone and not to a few specific players. According to him, all players should make sure to play for their respective state sides.
“It is not for just a few cricketers; it is for everyone to make sure that whenever you’re available, and fine, you should be able to play domestic cricket.”
Rohit told the press he followed the Ranji Trophy semifinal between Tamil Nadu and Mumbai, where Mumbai sealed a victory to secure its spot in the final. He also termed the other semifinal between Vidarbha and Madhya Pradesh “interesting”.
“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.”
Rohit concluded that such games show the quality of domestic cricket, and players should give importance because it is the core of Indian cricket.
“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.”
Plenty of talking has been done since Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were denied a national contract for ignoring domestic cricket. Clearly, Rohit is not pleased with them for showing disinterest in domestic and focusing too much on IPL, either.
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