Focus on Ranji Trophy as Rohit trains with Mumbai; Jaiswal confirms availability

Focus on Ranji Trophy as Rohit trains with Mumbai; Jaiswal confirms availability

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)’s feelers to all the cricketers to make the best effort to play in the remaining domestic first-class season has put the focus back on the next round of Ranji Trophy.

While India captain Rohit Sharma had a 40-minute session with the Mumbai Ranji Trophy squad at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday, in an indication that he could be available for Mumbai’s crucial fixture against Jammu and Kashmir at the MCA-BKC Ground here next week.

Though the Mumbai Cricket Association sources confirmed that Rohit hasn’t informed the association about his availability for the fixture, there is a strong buzz that he could eventually turn up for Mumbai after a decade. Rohit’s last Ranji appearance was in November 2015, and with a slump in form, the seasoned campaigner got into a match simulation during the training session and faced the Mumbai fast bowlers and spinners, pairing with Ajinkya Rahane.

While the focus is on Rohit, sources indicate that Yashasvi Jaiswal has already informed the coach Omkar Salvi about his availability, even though Sarfaraz Khan is likely to miss out on the game against Jammu and Kashmir after suffering an injury during a practice session in Australia.

Delhi will be travelling to Rajkot for its next game against Saurashtra, and the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) has included Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant and Harshit Rana in its 41-member provisional squad. However, it also made it clear that the international players will only be available if their schedule permits. It is understood that so far the DDCA has no clarity over Kohli or Pant’s participation.

In the opposite camp, the Saurashtra team management, too, awaits any confirmation from Ravindra Jadeja. It’s a similar story w Mohammed Siraj as the Hyderabad Cricket Association hasn’t heard from him yet.

According to reports, Shubman Gill will be available for Punjab’s next game against Karnataka. The Punjab Cricket Association is yet to announce the squad. The selectors indicated that they will speak to Gill latest by Wednesday and announce the squad soon after.

With most of the players expected to join the India ODI squad, they could miss the last round of the Ranji Trophy league stage starting on January 30. Hence, it will be the only opportunity for both Rohit and Kohli to play a competitive red-ball match.

Last season, Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer were not considered for the central contracts for having ignored the BCCI diktat to play domestic cricket.