Will Kohli, Rohit, Rahul & Jadeja Play in Ranji Trophy After BCCI's Mandate to Participate in Domestic Matches?

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After BCCI's new poilicy, all attention will be on Team India star cricketers Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja ahead of the next round of Ranji Trophy matches, scheduled to be held from January 23.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Thursday (January 16) unveiled a new 10-point stringent policy for Team India players with the first point being a mandate for players to participate in domestic matches.

"Participation in Domestic Matches is mandatory for players to remain eligible for selection in the national team and for central contracts, as per BCCI guidelines," the newly issued guidelines form the policy read.

"This policy ensures that players remain connected to the domestic cricket ecosystem, fostering talent development, maintaining match fitness, and strengthening the overall domestic structure. It also inspires emerging players by providing them opportunities to compete alongside top cricketers, ensuring continuity in talent progression."

Despite the above mandate, there is reportedly still no clarity on the availability of some of Team India's players when Ranji Trophy 2024/25 season resumes with the group stage match next week.

According to a report in CricBuzz, Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA), Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA) and Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) are yet to hear from their respective internationals.

The report added that Jadeja, who returned from Australia late, may play for Saurashtra in their next Ranji match against Delhi in Rajkot. "There are chances, but at this stage we have not heard from him yet," an SCA official was quoted as saying by CricBuzz.

Meanwhile, DDCA has not heard from Kohli on his participation, but Rishabh Pant, who was also part of the Indian team that toured Australia, is set to play in Delhi's match against Saurashtra. "We will announce the squad tomorrow (Friday), and as of now we have not heard from Virat," said DDCA secretary Ashok Sharma.

As for Rahul, the KSCA president Raghuram Bhat said the association has no knowledge of the batter's participation in Karnataka's Ranji Trophy match against Punjab in Bengaluru. Other Karnataka stars Devdutt Padikkal and Prasidh Krishna are expected to feature in the match along with another Team India batter Shubman Gill, who is set to feature for Punjab.

Rohit Sharma, on the other hand, is yet to confirm his availability for the match against Jammu & Kashmir despire training with Mumbai's Ranji team at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai earlier in the week.

Kohli and Rohit have not featured in Ranji Trophy for a long time now. The squads of several teams are likely to be announced on Friday (January 17), providing more clarity on the star Indian players' availability and participation in the next round of Ranji Trophy matches.