Seniors must demonstrate 'intent' despite packed international calendar for Ranji Trophy

India`s Virat Kohli (R) and captain Rohit Sharma arrive for the second innings on the second day of the third Test (Pic: AFP)

The demanding Test series in South Africa concluded in early January 2007, and by the month's end, India was gearing up for a bilateral ODI series against the West Indies, serving as preparation for the upcoming 50-over World Cup in the Caribbean. The Indian team played four ODIs on January 21, 24, 27, and 31 in Nagpur, Chennai, Cuttack, and Vadodara, respectively.

On February 1, four pivotal members of the squad - Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar, and Sourav Ganguly - were aboard a flight from Vadodara to Mumbai. Their destination was crucial, as Mumbai was set to clash with Bengal in the Ranji Trophy final from February 2 to 6, a prestigious match none of them wished to miss. In this high-stakes encounter, Tendulkar notched a century, Ganguly scored 90, and Zaheer claimed a slew of wickets.

Remarkably, within 48 hours of the Ranji final, Tendulkar, Ganguly, and Zaheer were required to play in an ODI series against Sri Lanka. At that time, the concept of 'workload management' had not yet gained traction in the cricketing community.

In stark contrast, the Indian team recently whitewashed 0-3 by New Zealand at home included senior players who were excused from participating in the Duleep Trophy, despite enjoying a reasonable break after the T20 World Cup, with only a brief three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka in between.

Aside from Jasprit Bumrah, whose injury-prone physique and exceptional talents necessitate careful workload management, questions are arising about the decisions of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, R. Ashwin, and Ravindra Jadeja to withdraw from the Duleep Trophy.

"In gruelling heat of second week of April, in the year 2000, he played Ranji Trophy semi-final for Mumbai against Tamil Nadu and scored a double hundred in a first innings chase of nearly 500," former India opener Devang Gandhi, who had been a national selector between 2017 to 2021, recalled while talking to PTI.

"In another three days, he was playing the Ranji final against Hyderabad which had Mohammed Azharuddin and VVS Laxman and scored a fifty and a hundred. Tendulkar played Ranji semi-final and final in a space of two weeks in April after playing ODIs till end of March," added the former player.

For context, the last Ranji Trophy match Kohli participated in was in Ghaziabad against Uttar Pradesh in 2013, a game that also featured luminaries like Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Ashish Nehra, Ishant Sharma, Suresh Raina, Mohammed Kaif, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar - arguably one of the last star-studded contests in Ranji Trophy history.

Rohit's last Ranji appearance for Mumbai was in 2015. Since then, both players have only engaged in one first-class match each: Kohli for India A before a tour of Sri Lanka in 2017, and Rohit for India A before a home series against South Africa in 2019, when he was set to open in Tests.

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In comparison, Sachin Tendulkar amassed an impressive 310 first-class games during his career, including 200 Tests, thus averaging about 110 first-class matches over 24 years despite a grueling international schedule. In contrast, Kohli has played merely 32 first-class games, while Rohit has participated in 61 matches since his debut in 2006.

However, it is essential to acknowledge that the Tendulkars, Laxmans, Dravids, and Gangulys of their era did not face the extensive two-month IPL and T20 international engagements that the current generation encounters. Rohit has played an astounding 448 career T20 matches, while Kohli is just shy of 400.

"Obviously workload is important and so is rest," Gandhi said.

"But for batters, if you realise that you are not in best of form, you have to take recourse to domestic cricket. I believe one Duleep Trophy game could have been played," Gandhi reasoned.

Former chairman of selectors MSK Prasad has pointed out that comparing the two eras is inherently flawed, given the sheer volume of cricket being played today. This nuanced perspective encourages a deeper understanding of the evolving landscape of cricket, where the dynamics of player participation, rest, and performance are continually reshaped by the demands of both traditional formats and the burgeoning T20 scene.

"It is unlike Kapil paaji and Sunny sir's days, volume of cricket has increased exponentially. It takes a lot out of cricketers," Prasad said.

"I think, the one-off Irani Cup match is where the BCCI can make it mandatory for stars to show up for the Rest of India team but they have to slot it at a time which is not overlapping with a Test series," he suggested.

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Prasad also felt that there should be a structured rotation policy in place to manage workloads, something that the committee led by him introduced between 2017 and 2021.

"I do not know why the rotation system started by us to ensure breaks for players has been done away with, you did not need all the stars to play against Bangladesh," he said.

The BCCI had emphasised the need for big players to show up for domestic engagements a few months ago but at the same time, the Board allowed them to skip Duleep Trophy, which took place before the two-Test rubber against Bangladesh.

"Champion players are very self-aware individuals. (But) Sometimes a nudge is required to help them. Having said this, the expectation needs to be set from the right stakeholders at the very start to avoid awkward situations," said another former selector Jatin Paranjpe, putting the onus on the Board.

Possibly the way forward for the Board will be to make it mandatory for the Indian team members (unless someone is injured) to play at least one or two domestic games before a major Test series.

The 'India cricket' season which runs from October to March will always have Ranji Trophy overlapping with some home Test series unless the team travels to Australia, New Zealand, or South Africa during the same period.

"A good way is to schedule a home Test series in such a manner that at least one or two Ranji rounds precede it instead of running parallelly, which has been the case all this while," Prasad said.