Kirti Azad, the former India player and 1983 World Cup winner, has supported the BCCI's decision to make playing in the Ranji Trophy mandatory. He has, however, urged the board to ensure that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma play domestic cricket as well.
The BCCI did not offer central contracts to Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan after they failed to play Ranji Trophy games for their teams. In the previous season, Iyer was in Grade B while Kishan was retained in Grade C.
In an interview with PTI, Azad endorsed the BCCI's directive and suggested that the new announcement should also include Kohli and Rohit. Kohli has only played one Ranji Trophy match since his Test debut, while Rohit's last appearance in the Ranji Trophy was in 2015.
Azad mentioned:
“It is a good move. Every player should play Ranji Trophy, but currently, the focus is on IPL. It is good but real cricket is a five-day game. Whenever you are free from national duty, be a part of domestic cricket and this should also apply to Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.”
Azad criticised the punishment of only two players for refusing to compete in Ranji Trophy, stating that every player should be treated equally.
He also noted that players like Sunil Gavaskar and Bishan Singh Bedi played domestic cricket with younger players, which is missing from the current generation. Azad scored 6,634 runs at an average of 39.48 in 42 first-class matches.
Although Kohli has chosen to sit out of the current five-match Test series against England, Rohit is leading the India team.