We have been little strict – Jay Shah on the Duleep Trophy squads

The Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) announced the Duleep Trophy squads on Wednesday and the latest edition of the tournament will star a handful of big names. The tournament starts from 5th September and will continue until the 24th with the matches scheduled to be hosted in Andhra Pradesh and Bengaluru.

Earlier this year, BCCI made it mandatory that every single player will have to make themselves available for the domestic competitions when not on national duties and failing to do so can lead to dire repercussions.

BCCI secretary, Jay Shah, in an interview with the Times of India, highlighted the exact rationale behind the entire decision and why Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were offered an opportunity to consider their participation and not instructed to play like the others.

Jay Shah said, “We have been little strict. When Ravindra Jadeja had got injured, I was the one who called him and asked him to play a domestic game. It's certain now, whoever gets injured and goes out, can only come into the Indian team after proving his fitness in domestic cricket.”

He further added, “But it doesn't make sense to add to Virat and Rohit's load by asking them to play domestic cricket. They run the risk of getting injured. You also need to look at England and Australia. None of their top players play domestic cricket.”

Shah concluded by saying, “We must treat our players respectfully and not treat them like servants. If you look Duleep Trophy squad, apart from Rohit and Virat rest are going to play. It's because of the harsh steps I have taken, Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan are playing Duleep Trophy.”