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BCCI’s Strong Stance on Kohli and Rohit: Play Ranji or Face Future Doubts

 

The BCCI and the selection committee want all the players, including Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, to feature in the Ranji Trophy. This is so following India’s below-par show with the red ball in their recent losses to New Zealand and Australia.

 

Mandatory Prevention of Ranji Trophy Participation

 

To again start winning tournaments before the 2025 Champions Trophy, the BCCI has made it compulsory for players such as Kohli and Sharma; and several other senior players to feature in the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy. The domestic competition will pause on January 23 but will afford the players time to prepare for the ODI series against England starting February 6. The directive of BCCI is intended to give the players a good platform to get back to normal after the poor show put up by the Indian team in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and other long-format cricket.

 

Regaining Confidence for Senior Players is the Focus

 

At the top of the selection committee's radar are top batters like Kohli, on a run drought in recent months. According to a BCCI official, "There’s no substitute to spending time at the crease to regain confidence. It is for the player, no matter how experienced, to realise it." The focus is on domestic cricket to build confidence, both domestically and internationally. Both Kohli, who has not played a Ranji Trophy match since 2012, and Rohit Sharma, who has not featured since 2015, will have to rediscover their touch.

 

Return to Basics Crucial for Kohli’s Future

 

Kohli’s future in international is dependent on his ability to return to the basics, said the BCCI. There is a strong belief among the board, that if Kohli decided he wanted to play outside India, he had to bat with pomp like before, and that might mean focusing on the basics, said a report in Hindustan Times. There is no official mandate for players to take part in the Ranji Trophy, but the BCCI has said that non-participation without a valid reason could see them dropped from future selections.

 

Skipping Won’t Get Punished, But Selection May Be Deflected

 

The BCCI, meanwhile, does not intend to penalise those players who choose to give the Ranji Trophy a miss, but if they don't play they might come in for a rough ride at future selection. Reasons such as fitness or medical concerns mean Kohli or Sharma won’t be any trouble as players like Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were last time around.

At a time when the 2025 Champions Trophy is looming large, the BCCI directive underlines the importance of domestic cricket as a means to fishing players in the groove before those assignments. Now that all eyes are on the Ranji Trophy, Kohli and Sharma will keep rubbing shoulders with the sport to find out if they can return to their recent form.