India captain Rohit Sharma asserted that India’s domestic cricket tournaments like the Ranji Trophy are the backbone of national cricket and remain extremely valuable. He added that they help in selecting teams for Tests and ODIs.
Rohit’s words came after India lost the third ODI by 110 runs to Sri Lanka and as a result, lost the three-ODI series 0-2. This is the first time since 1997 that India lost an ODI series to Sri Lanka.
Rohit acknowledged that the Indian Premier League is an important tournament in this sense, but noted that its development has not decreased the relevance of India's big local competitions.
The Men in Blue, regarded as one of the strongest spin-playing teams in international cricket, struggled against Sri Lanka's slow bowlers, resulting in dramatic batting collapses in all three games.
At the post-match press conference, Rohit emphasized the importance of India's local framework in selecting players for Test and ODI squads and responding to whether he would advise India's young batters to play domestic cricket more frequently.
Rohit Sharma answered: "That's always been our goal - to make sure that guys who are available go and play Ranji Trophy. Our domestic cricket is the backbone of our international cricket. A lot of the guys who are now representing the country have come up playing domestic cricket, so our domestic cricket is crucial for everyone. We want to make sure that it stays competitive.
We get players from our domestic circuit, but not so much from IPL. When you choose players for Test and ODI cricket, a lot of discussion happens on who is doing well in Ranji Trophy, one-day format, Syed Mushtaq Ali, and stuff like that.”
Rohit elaborated on the IPL's growing prominence amidst the passion for the T20 format, stating that the cash-rich competition has its stature.
"IPL is, of course, one format where the challenges are different. It's a competition of both. IPL is also our cricket - it's the Indian Premier League. At the end of the day, whoever does well in all of these tournaments eventually will get picked up," Rohit added.
There has been a persistent debate about the IPL and its benefits to Indian cricket. While several players have become superstars through the league, a few domestic veterans have expressed concerns about the tournament's overwhelming influence in Indian cricket.
Speaking about India's poor batting performance in the ODI series in Sri Lanka, Rohit noted that playing on spinning tracks is never an excuse because they are accustomed to such surfaces at home.
"Playing spin, playing against slow bowlers on slow pitches - that shouldn't be an excuse for us. We all play on these kinds of pitches. It's all about just having that game plan and being very clear with your plans," the Indian captain conceded.
Rohit scored the most runs in the three-match ODI series, totaling 157 at an average of 52.33 and a strike rate of 141.4. However, no other batter from the side scored 100 runs in the series.
(ANI inputs)
