Well said Rohit Sharma

At the end of the 4^th Test against England, Rohit Sharma was at his fiery best. He said all the right things to say in the press meet. It was so heartening to see the national team’s captain say such things. The youngsters are more and more influenced by money and they opt for the shortest version. They prepare themselves to excel in that format alone. This is not enough. More needs to be done but atleast, the captain is voicing his concern about some of the youngsters. By the way, India have won the series against England after much anxiety. Overall, well said Rohit Sharma.

What did Rohit say?

After the game ended, Rohit answered quite a few questions rather frankly. It is refreshing to hear an Indian captain being so open about playing Test cricket and it is also heartening to note the importance the current lot gives to Test cricket. A few days ago, the BCCI secretary, Jay Shah, warned players who did not play for their respective states in the ongoing Ranji Trophy that they would stand to lose the central contract. Some like Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan choose to ignore that warning. They did not play for their state teams in the final round of the Ranji games.

First, the audacity of these players, both of whom played for India recently, is disturbing and second, the power an IPL contract gives to each player is scary. Here are a couple of players who had hardly played a handful of games for the nation going against the diktat issued by the secretary of the most powerful cricketing body in the world. At this moment, it is not clear whether the contracts of these players and a few others will be terminated but it does not matter to them because their IPL worth is much higher.

Jay Shah’s comments

“However, there is a trend that has started to emerge and is a cause for concern. Some players have begun prioritising the IPL over domestic cricket, a shift that was not anticipated. Domestic cricket has always been the foundation upon which Indian cricket stands, and it has never been undervalued in our vision for the sport.”

This is something that is waiting to happen. Ever since the initiation of IPL, there is a growing set of players who are content in playing franchise cricket only rather than for their nation. Any sportsperson’s shelf life is limited and it makes perfect sense to make the most of it. However, for an Indian cricketer, who is capable of playing for the nation for a very longtime, the board takes care of them through lucrative contracts. Morever, IPL happens in the off-season. They can play both IPL and international cricket. However, as Rohit says, the hunger must be there within the player. If not, there is no point.

Rohit was point blank

“This [Test cricket] is the toughest format,” Rohit said after India won the fourth Test against England in Ranchi to take an unassailable 3-1 lead. “And if you want success and want to excel in this tough format then you need that hunger. It is very important. We will give opportunity only to players who have that hunger. You come to know [easily] the players who don’t have that hunger, [or] players who don’t want to stay here [and play this format]. We come to know that.

“Players who have that hunger, players who want to stay here and perform, [and] play in tough conditions, we will give preference to them. Obviously, it is pretty simple: if you don’t have hunger, there’s no meaning playing such players.”

These words were directed at Kishan, Shreyas and perhaps even Hardik Pandya. Ever since the South African tour, from which Kishan asked for a break, he has not been involved in any competitive cricket. He was asked by the team management to play in domestic games to be eligible for the national team. However, he choose to skip Ranji Trophy. Evidently, to prepare and keep himself fit for Ranji Trophy. There was also a murmur of Shreyas’s insubordination. These are serious attitude issues. The IPL contracts are so much worth that the upcoming players do not want to play for India. Rishabh Pant has on record said that his only intention was to play T20 cricket and nothing else. However, success in the longest form seems to have straightened his priority.

Only international players are remembered

The day is not far off when we will see more and more youngsters prefer the world of franchise cricket than undergo the rigours of Test cricket. Ofcourse, it is difficult to remember the greats of franchise cricket but every great cricketer has done wonders in Test cricket and they are remembered forever. MS Dhoni has won 5 IPL titles but he is remembered for his exploits for the country. He is the only Indian captain to have won 3 ICC trophies.

Wrapping up well said Rohit Sharma

It is not enough to just warn the players. Terminating their contracts will not have much impact. More needs to be done. One suggestion is that any Indian cricketer who hasn’t performed at the international level, will not be eligible for a high pay in the IPL. Their pay will be capped at a lower level. Someone has to belt the cat. Jay Shah says all these things now but is he capable of acting on his warning? That remains to be seen.