The Board of Control for Cricket in India has made it clear to the Indian cricketers that they just can’t avoid domestic cricket, the BCCI has instructed the players to represent their state teams in domestic tournaments whenever they are not playing international cricket.
Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan have paid the price of ignoring the instructions by getting ousted from the list of annual retainer contracts. Some feel that the BCCI has been strict with these two but the legendary former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar feels that the Indian board has taken the right step by giving equal importance to domestic cricket.
Sachin Tendulkar made a tweet on X in which he talked about the recent semi-finals of Ranji Trophy. He stated that he was always passionate about playing for his state team, adding that presence of the Indian cricketers raises the quality of the game and it also gives a chance to the senior players to rediscover basics.
Sachin Tendulkar wrote, “The Ranji Trophy semi-finals have been riveting! @MumbaiCricAssoc’s march into the finals was aided by a brilliant batting recovery, while the other semi-final hangs in the balance going into the last day – Madhya Pradesh need 90+ runs to win, Vidarbha need 4 wickets.
Throughout my career, I remained passionate about playing for Mumbai whenever I had the opportunity. Growing up, we had almost 7-8 India players in our dressing room, and it was fun to play alongside them.
When India players turn up for their domestic teams, it raises the quality of play for youngsters and sometimes new talent is identified. It also gives the national players a chance to sometimes rediscover the basics.
With top notch players participating in domestic tournaments, over a period of time, fans will also start following and supporting their domestic teams much more. Wonderful to see @BCCI give equal priority to domestic cricket.”
Sachin Tendulkar is always right when it comes to cricket, isn’t he?
