Country First, Says Sourav Ganguly As He Denies Ravindra Jadeja Permission To Play Ranji Trophy Final

The BCCI has turned down Saurashtra Cricket Association’s request to have Ravindra Jadeja for the upcoming Ranji Trophy final. The Indian cricket board has cited ‘country first’ policy while turning down the request from Saurashtra who will lock horns against Bengal in the title-decider.

Unlike Ravindra Jadeja, India stars Wriddhiman Saha and Cheteshwar Pujara will be playing for Bengal and Saurashtra respectively in the final. However, since Ravindra Jadeja is part of the Indian ODI team that plays its first game against South Africa on March 12, he won’t be released to play the final that gets underway on March 9 in Rajkot.

Sourav Ganguly, the BCCI president, was requested by Jaydev Shah, the SCA president, to allow Jadeja to play. But the former India skipper turned down the request.

“I spoke to him [Ganguly] and was told that the board can’t allow Jadeja to play Ranji as country comes first,” Shah revealed according to the Indian Express.

Shah did not sound too happy with BCCI’s decision. The SCA president suggested that international games should not be scheduled during the final of Ranji Trophy, the premier domestic competition. He made a reference to the board policy with IPL to state his case.

“If BCCI wants people to watch their premier domestic cricket then no international game should be held during Ranji final, henceforth. It’s my suggestion. Will BCCI keep an international match during IPL? No, because it gives money. Ranji Trophy can only be popularised if star players play at least in the finals. Don’t keep any international cricket during finals, have a proper window,” said the former Saurashtra captain.

“I would have loved to see him (Jadeja) play the Ranji Trophy final for us, why only Jadeja, I would have loved to see Mohammad Shami (for Bengal) also,” he added.

The upcoming final will be Saurashtra’s fourth Ranji Trophy final in eight years and they will be desperate to lay their hands on the trophy. They beat Gujarat in the semifinal to enter the final. On the other hand, Bengal beat Karnataka to book their spot in the title-decider.

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