Former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar strongly believes players must play in the upcoming round of the Ranji Trophy to become better in Test cricket. Gavaskar's statement came after India's crushing 1-3 Test series defeat in Australia and claimed that players must make no excuses when it comes to domestic cricket.
India's batting unit has come under the scanner after their series loss Down Under, having been bowled out under 200 in six out of nine completed innings. Their engine room of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli collectively managed only 221 runs, with the former averaging a woeful 6.2 in three Tests. Yashasvi Jaiswal turned out to be India's best batter in the series with 391 runs in the series.
Speaking to Star Sports, the 75-year-old said domestic cricket must be made indispensable to play in the Test side.
"Dekhte hain. 23 January ko agla round hai Ranji Trophy ka. Hum dekhte hain kitne log khelte hain. Kitne log available hain hum dekhte hain. Usi se aapko pata chalega. Uske liye koi excuse nahin hona chahiye, ki hum nahin khel sakte, koi excuse nahin. Agar aap nahin khelte woh matches, toh Gautam Gambhir ko yeh nirnay lena hoga ki aapke paas woh commitment nahin hai, hume chahiye commitment. Aapko nahin khelna hai mat kheliye par aap bhartiya Test team mein waapsi nahin kar sakte."
(Let's see. January 23rd is when the next round of Ranji Trophy begins. Let's see how many players play and are available. No excuse should be entertained for that. If they don't play, Gambhir has to decide that they don't have that commitment and must decide against their inclusion in the Test side in the future.)
"I would always like everyone to play domestic cricket" - Gautam Gambhir
During a press conference after the Sydney Test, head coach Gautam Gambhir said the highest importance must be given to domestic cricket if a system wants to have able red-ball players.
"I would always like everyone to play domestic cricket. That is how much importance domestic cricket needs to be given. Not only one game. If they are available and they have the commitment to play red ball cricket, everyone should play domestic cricket. As simple as it can get. If you don't give importance to domestic cricket, you will never get the desired players that you want."
