BCCI's hypocrisy exposed as Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah to get leeway from playing domestic cricket

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has stood tall on its statement to prioritize domestic red-ball cricket. As per the reports in PTI, it is learned that the governing body has asked the Test specialist to feature in the Duleep Trophy ahead of the Bangladesh Tests.

During the England Test series earlier at home, BCCI secretary Jay Shah came up with a strict statement and stated that all the players of the Indian team even star cricketers must make themselves available for domestic engagements when they are free from national duty.

However, this time around there will be exceptions for a few players. The reports claimed that while Test specialists have been asked to play the Duleep Trophy, the likes of skipper Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah have been granted rest by the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

A source close to BCCI revealed that the teams for the Duleep Trophy will be picked by the national selection committee and the current Indian team players will feature in the tournament. He also stated Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah's availability depends on the players themselves. He stated:

"This time there is no zonal selection committee for the Duleep Trophy. Only the national selection committee will pick Duleep teams. All Test team contenders will be picked. For Rohit, Virat, and Bumrah, it will be their choice if they want to play or not."

The reports also revealed that all-rounder Hardik Pandya will be leading Team India in the three-match T20I series against the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team. However, the premier player has asked for rest from ODIs due to personal reasons. The ODIs will be played in August.

Talking about the same, the source stated that Hardik Pandya is completely fit and will be leading the team. He stated:

"Hardik Pandya was India's T2O vice-captain under Rohit Sharma. He is completely fit and available for the three-match T20I series and will lead the side. The break from ODIs is for very personal reasons. Hardik doesn't have any fitness issues as is being floated in the media."

KL Rahul and Shubman Gill are in contention to captain India in the ODI series against Sri Lanka

Apart from the above-mentioned development, it is learned that KL Rahul along with Shubman Gill is in contention to captain the team in the ODIs. The keeper-batter was the captain of the team in the last ODI series India played against South Africa. While Gill recently captained India in T20Is against Zimbabwe.

India will be playing three T20Is and three ODIs on their tour to Sri Lanka. The T20Is against Sri Lanka will run from July 27 to 30 in Pallekele, followed by the ODIs from August 2 to 7 in Colombo. The squad for the series is expected to be announced in the next couple of days. It will also be first series for Gautam Gambhir as coach.