Playing Domestic Cricket Now Essential for Indian Team Selection, Says Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma, captain of the Indian cricket team, has outlined his policy on domestic cricket, mandating that every player should participate in domestic games during their break periods. 

This statement from Rohit Sharma came in the wake of the Indian cricket team’s surprising and shocking loss to Sri Lanka in the ODI series, where the squad faced considerable difficulties against spin bowling, except for Rohit. 

Here is what Rohit Sharma said in the press conference:

“It’s very important to play domestic cricket. We mainly pick players for Tests and ODIs from domestic circuit. Our domestic cricket is the backbone of Indian cricket.”

BCCI’s Request to Indian Players

The Board of Control for Cricket in India required all contracted Indian cricket players to play domestic cricket whenever they had the chance, as per their directive from last year.

Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were excluded from the central contracts of the BCCI partly because they initially ignored the board’s instructions to play domestic cricket during the year, though they later played a few matches in the Ranji Trophy. 

Duleep Trophy Awaits Indian Contracted Players

On the other hand, reports indicate that the upcoming Duleep Trophy is expected to feature many central contracted stars of the Indian cricket team, as the BCCI has asked them to participate before the busy schedule, which includes a Test series against Bangladesh.

It is being noted that the recently concluded three-match ODI series was India’s last ODI series of 2024. The team has no further ODI matches scheduled and will next play against England before the 2025 Champions Trophy.