Reports | Mayank Agarwal joins Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube in being rested for Ranji Trophy games

Team India players not playing the Ranji Trophy is becoming a growing concern because of the importance of the tournament. Shreyas Iyer and Shivam Dube missed Mumbai's game against Railways by informing their team that they were advised to rest by the medical staff of the Indian team which comprises physio Nitin Patel and trainer Nick Webb. Due to this, Mumbai missed their two key players and ended up losing the game by 10 wickets. Pacer Navdeep Saini also decided to opt out of Delhi's Ranji Trophy game against Hyderabad on the grounds of advice for rest. 

“Team India’s medical team of the Indian team monitors the workload of all the players in the side. Iyer and Dube were asked to rest as per its advice. Mayank has played two games so far, but he needs to rest a bit now because then he will leave with the India A team for New Zealand on January 10. Whenever a player is asked to rest from domestic games, skipper Virat Kohli, coach Ravi Shastri and chief selector MSK Prasad are informed about it,” said a source in the board, according to TOI.

Players like Jasprit Bumrah who was withdrawn from the Gujarat squad at the last moment on the grounds of rest also show the way in which the importance of Ranji Trophy has fallen over the years. It was a proud moment for anyone to play Ranji Trophy in the past but with every passing day it is just becoming a secndary tournament for the India players.

“It’s not that all India players have stopped playing in the Ranji Trophy. In New Zealand, Mayank will be playing in both the limited-overs and the four-day first-class games. Ajinkya Rahane and Prithvi Shaw are playing for Mumbai. KL Rahul played in both the Vijay Hazare and Mushtaq Ali Trophy for Karnataka. At a time when you have IPL, T20 cricket and the India A tours, you have to give players sufficient time to recuperate and stay fresh,” the source stressed.