The Indian team management has devised a program in order to curtail and regulate the participation of Team India’s ODI regulars in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2018-19.
As per reports of TOI, players like Yuzvendra Chahal, Kedar Jadhav, and Shikhar Dhawan, who are almost certain to play in the 2019 World Cup in England, will not be playing every match for their state teams in this Ranji season.
While it was logistically impractical for Chahal and Dhawan to have made it for the ongoing round of the tournament because the T20I series in Australia ended late on Sunday, Jadhav skipped Maharashtra’s match against Karnataka which started on Wednesday.
“Indian team’s trainer Shankar Basu and physio Patrick Farhart have put the ODI specialists on a programme to monitor their workload. It’s not that they have been completely barred from playing Ranji but they will need clearances from the team management,” a source close to the team management told TOI.
He added, “Given the World Cup is just seven months away, the team management doesn’t want to disturb the core of the team. Jadhav has a history of breaking down frequently. So, they need to be cautious with him.”
Yuzvendra Chahal is yet to return from Australia after the T20I series, as he had asked for personal leaves and is expected to be back on December 10. Dhawan has also not committed to the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA). The Delhi selectors were informed that he will not be able to make it for the match that started here on Wednesday. They will get in touch with the opener to know if he will be available for the next match from Dec 6.
As for Dhawan, TOI learned that he is reluctant to play Ranji matches after being snubbed for the Test series against Australia.
“He has his family in Melbourne and the ODI squad will assemble back in Australia in the first week of January for the ODI series. Like Ambati Rayudu, who has given up playing first-class cricket to focus on his World Cup prospects, Dhawan is also now focused on performing well in the shorter formats. How he prepares is up to him. He may turn up for Delhi if he feels he needs match practice,” the source mentioned.
This trend of ODI specialists skipping Ranji matches began last year when Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, and Jadhav skipped a round of Ranji matches to be at the NCA.
“There has been no official communication to the state teams from either the Indian team management or BCCI. The board must be aware that the interests of the state members make the board strong,” a BCCI official told TOI.
(with TOI inputs)
