BCCI asserts on playing domestic cricket to Test specialists, Rohit, Virat, and Bumrah exempted

BCCI has remained intact on its stand of the importance of Test cricket and for the players to feature in the domestic circuit to stay in contention or the selection in the national team.

BCCI remains stern on their long held stand of importance of playing domestic cricket. (Photo – Getty Images)

New Delhi: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has yet again asserted on the importance of featuring in domestic cricket to all the star Test cricketers in the country. BCCI secretary Jay Shah has made it clear that even the Test stalwarts must make themselves available for domestic assignments when not pursuing duty for the nation. But the senior trio of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Jasprit Bumrah are free from the compulsion.

As per a senior BCCI source, the governing body wants all the other Test specialists to play at least one if not a couple of Duleep Trophy games in August in the build-up to the Test series against Bangladesh and New Zealand.

“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 source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

Hardik Pandya to lead India in SL T20Is

Meanwhile, it has been reported that star all-rounder Hardik Pandya will lead Team India in the upcoming three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka starting on July 27. The tour will see a shift in the Indian setup with Gautam Gambhir as the new head coach and Pandya replacing T20I retired Rohit Sharma as the skipper. He will, however, be absent for the three-match ODI series, which is scheduled in August, for “personal reasons”.

“Hardik Pandya was India’s T20 vice-captain under Rohit Sharma. He is completely fit and available for the three-match T20I series and will lead the side,” the source added. The squad could be announced in the next couple of days and there’s still no clarity over who would be Pandya’s deputy. It might be a tussle between Shubman Gill, who recently led India to a 4-1 win over Zimbabwe, and Suryakumar Yadav, who led the side during the T20Is against South Africa last year.

The official said that Pandya has already communicated about his absence from the ODIs to regular skipper Rohit Sharma, who is also taking a break from the series.

“The break from ODIs is for very personal reasons. Hardik doesn’t have any fitness issue as is being floated in the media,” the official said. Meanwhile, for the ODIs, KL Rahul and Gill are in contention for the captaincy role.