Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar raised doubts about the reasons given by players who missed the recently concluded round of Ranji Trophy 2024-25. Under the newly-implemented BCCI guidelines, domestic cricket has become mandatory, and any absence requires approval from the management.
While the new mandate saw several first-team players return to the domestic circuit, it wasn’t a full turnout. Players like Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, and Rishabh Pant participated, but notable absentees included Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, and Mohammed Siraj.
Reports indicated that Kohli suffered a neck sprain, affecting his availability for the match against Saurashtra. Despite being listed among the probables, his inclusion in the XI depended on fitness. Gavaskar questioned the validity of such injury claims, stating that obtaining a medical certificate for an injury is ‘child’s play’.
“More interesting would be what action the BCCI takes if they don’t play. Were they injured? Getting a medical certificate for an ‘injury’ is child’s play, and if they are injured, did they go to the NCA for treatment and recovery, as Nitish Reddy was sent the moment he had that side strain?” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar.
“Isn’t that the practice for the BCCI-contracted players, that as soon as there’s an injury, they have to report to the NCA, and only after the BCCI experts there certify them as fit can they resume playing for India? For all we know, these players might have opted out of the earlier games for non-injury reasons,” he added
“Ayush Mhatre, Who Scored Hundreds and Fifties, Left Out”- Sunil Gavaskar
With established openers Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal rejoining the domestic setup, Mumbai was forced to reorganize their batting lineup. Since the duo was included directly into the team, the in-form 17-year-old Ayush Mhatre had to be left out for the match against Jammu and Kashmir.
“Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal’s participation meant that Ayush Mhatre, who had got a couple of hundreds and some fifties, had to be left out of the Mumbai side. Hopefully, the youngster would have spent some time with both these players and picked their brains about adding to his batting ability,” Gavaskar mentioned.
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