BCCI miffed over players opting out of Ranji Trophy and gearing up for IPL

While the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane have been eyeing to make comebacks in the national side, some younger players have chosen to skip First Class cricket upsetting the BCCI.

Hyderabad: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is reportedly unhappy and dissatisfied with certain players choosing not to participate in the Ranji Trophy.

The development comes at a time when there are significant speculations over the spots of some players in the national squad, even as wicket-keeper batsman Ishan Kishan has been drawing attention over his absence from cricket since he withdrew from the South-Africa tour mid-way in last November.

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While the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane have been eyeing to make comebacks in the national side, some younger players have chosen to skip First Class cricket upsetting the BCCI. Meanwhile, India head coach Rahul Dravid seemed displeased over media repeatedly questioning the young wick-keeper’s unavailability.

Responding to the questions, Dravid said that Kishan must play some cricket before returning to the national fold. Some sections of media, however, reported that Ishan has returned to training but did not make himself available for selection for the Jharkhand Ranji Team.

According to a Times of India report, the BCCI is likely to send out a notice to all players who are deemed fit, to take part in the Ranji Trophy. The report also states that some of the newspaper’s sources in BCCI have expressed displeasure and further mentioned that some players were already in the  “IPL mode”.

The TOI’s source was quoted as saying: “All the players will be communicated by the BCCI to play for their respective state teams in the Ranji Trophy, as long as they are not on national duty, with only those who are unfit and recovering at NCA being granted an exemption. The Board isn’t too happy with certain players already in IPL mode from January.