Sunil Joshi: Unless injured, all top players should play domestic cricket

Sunil Joshi: Unless injured, all top players should play domestic cricket

Amid the ongoing debate on whether top Indian cricketers should go back to domestic cricket when not on national duty, former international and national selector Sunil Joshi believes that unless a player is injured, he should be available for domestic tournaments.

“You should not neglect domestic cricket at all. One needs to keep in mind that he has gone on to play for India or in the IPL, only after playing domestic cricket, so when the respective state needs the services of a player, and if he is not injured or is not being advised rest by the team management or medical team or NCA medical team, he should represent the state across all three formats,” Joshi tells  Sportstar.

The issue of international players being asked to feature in domestic cricket has resurfaced following India’s series defeat against Australia earlier this month. A large section of cricket pundits believe that the senior players should play the next leg of the Ranji Trophy, starting January 23.

Joshi has always been of the opinion that domestic cricket should be given the priority. A former India spinner and now the spin-bowling coach of Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Joshi believes that the presence of top players will also boost the domestic tournaments and motivate the younger players from the respective state teams.

“I have also voiced this issue quite a few times. It is the same thing now. Unless a player is injured, why should he not be playing domestic cricket? If a top player plays in domestic tournaments, there will be a lot of inspirational opportunities for the other younger players from the same state. So, that will have a big impact for the future generation as well,”Joshi says.

Debunking the talks of players being overloaded due to ‘too much cricket’, the former selector says, “There is no word called too much of cricket. You are a real professional, and people play across three formats. Back in our day, players played both formats and still they went on to play domestic cricket – be it Duleep Trophy, Deodhar Trophy, Irani Cup, Board President’s XI, Ranji Trophy.

“If they play, the domestic tournament will get an even bigger boost. Because when the star players or the players who have played for India go back and play their respective domestic games, they attract a lot of crowd also,” Joshi added.