KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj's unavailability angers BCCI; strict command issued
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Indian veteran batsman KL Rahul, premier fast bowler Mohammed Siraj, and all-rounder Washington Sundar's non-selection in the South Zone Duleep Trophy squad has angered the BCCI, resulting in the issuance of an official letter addressing the inclusion of international players in the zonal squads.
After the conclusion of the India vs England 5-match Test series, the likes of KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj, and Washington Sundar have been rested and are left out of the Duleep Trophy squad. However, according to BCCI guidelines, players should also focus on playing domestic cricket.
This ultimatum was issued after Indian players started prioritizing IPL and international games and were barred from domestic participation, which often caused some failures in recent times. Hence, after the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the Indian management urged international players to prioritize domestic games.
BCCI issues ultimatum to State Associations on exclusion of International players like KL Rahul in the Duleep Trophy zonal squads
Recently, after the squad selection for the Duleep Trophy and the non-selection of top players like KL Rahul and Mohammed Siraj for the South Zone squad, the BCCI has been irked and has written to the state associations to select centrally contracted international players for the Duleep Trophy.
The BCCI had sent an email to a few associations over the selections, as the move was primarily triggered by the South Zone decision not to have the likes of KL Rahul, Siraj, and Sundar in their squad.
BCCI general manager Abey Kuruvilla reminded the state associations, as they picked the Duleep Trophy squads for their respective zones, about the need for including premier players in the domestic tournament.
“To uphold its prestige and ensure the highest quality of competition, it’s imperative that all currently available Indian players are selected for their respective zonal teams. Requesting the Zonal Convenors to ensure that all the current Indian players who are available to play the Duleep trophy should be picked,” Kuruvilla wrote in an email accessed by The Indian Express.
BCCI's ultimatum for International players to prioritize domestic cricket
Last year, the BCCI had laid down that international players needed to make themselves available to feature in all formats of domestic cricket, after they found some players only prioritizing the IPL. This notice was reiterated after the Test series in Australia.
South Zone named a squad comprising Tilak Varma as the captain; however, the BCCI does not have a diktat on that point, hence, there is no clarity whether South Zone will change their squad post the Kuruvilla email.
Top players like Shubman Gill (Test captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, and Shreyas Iyer will be playing for their respective zones in the upcoming Duleep Trophy, despite which KL Rahul and Washington Sundar have not made it to any Duleep Trophy squad.
State Associations' reasons behind snub of International cricketers
Several state associations have informed that international stars like KL Rahul should be playing for India A or the Board President's XI instead of the Duleep Trophy or the Deodhar Trophy. They argue that the influx of national stars makes the Ranji players who have toiled throughout the season sit out.
They feel that the players who had done well in past seasons don’t get rewarded for their performance once the Indian players walk into the side.
However, Kuruvilla had written that all contracted players have to adhere to the guidelines sent to them.
“Participation in domestic matches: All players, contracted or otherwise, who make themselves available for selection into Team India, shall participate in domestic matches conducted by BCCI."
"In case any player opts not to participate in any domestic cricket tournaments in spite of availability, he/she shall not be considered for selection unless a prior recommendation is obtained to skip the match/tournament from the National coach and the chairman of selection committee, and prior approval from the BCCI. In case any leave is granted, the same shall be considered on the basis of some valid and cogent reason,” he added.
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India National Cricket Team KL Rahul Duleep Trophy Washington Sundar Mohammed Siraj Sai Sudharsan Prasidh Krishna BCCI
