‘Six India players could have played Ranji’
8 Jan 2014 6:40 AM IST
BCCI is not allowing six players, Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane (Mumbai), Mohammed Shami (Bengal), Stuart Binny (Karnataka), Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Suresh Raina (UP), to play for their states as Indian ODI squad is flying off to New Zealand in wee hours of January 12, which is the last day of the quarterfinal.
‘Well, I think there was a good opportunity and a case to allow these players play for their teams in the Ranji Trophy quarter-final. There is a gap of seven days before they play the first ODI (January 19). I am sure these six could have joined the team a day or two later as it has happened earlier,’ Dravid told ESPN Cricinfo in a panel discussion on Tuesday.
‘If I would have been Bhuvneshwar, I would have liked to play. He may have bowled a lot in the nets but he hasn’t played any matches for over a month. May be from Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane’s perspective, they could have asked for a break after a gruelling series. But they are young kids, who would have wanted to take Mumbai to semi-final,’ Dravid said.
Dravid also said if likes of Rohit and Rahane play in Ranji Trophy, it ‘raises the profile’ of the event. ‘I am not saying BCCI doesn’t value Ranji Trophy. They do value a lot but if these boys play, it raises profile of the event. Since the match (Mumbai vs Maharashtra) would be telecast live, people while flipping through channels, if they find Rohit batting, they would just hang around and watch a bit more,’ Dravid said.
‘Well, I think there was a good opportunity and a case to allow these players play for their teams in the Ranji Trophy quarter-final. There is a gap of seven days before they play the first ODI (January 19). I am sure these six could have joined the team a day or two later as it has happened earlier,’ Dravid told ESPN Cricinfo in a panel discussion on Tuesday.
‘If I would have been Bhuvneshwar, I would have liked to play. He may have bowled a lot in the nets but he hasn’t played any matches for over a month. May be from Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane’s perspective, they could have asked for a break after a gruelling series. But they are young kids, who would have wanted to take Mumbai to semi-final,’ Dravid said.
Dravid also said if likes of Rohit and Rahane play in Ranji Trophy, it ‘raises the profile’ of the event. ‘I am not saying BCCI doesn’t value Ranji Trophy. They do value a lot but if these boys play, it raises profile of the event. Since the match (Mumbai vs Maharashtra) would be telecast live, people while flipping through channels, if they find Rohit batting, they would just hang around and watch a bit more,’ Dravid said.
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