“Lot of guys now representing the country have come up playing domestic cricket” – Rohit Sharma doesn’t feel IPL has diminished value of Ranji Trophy

Indian captain Rohit Sharma doesn’t feel that the IPL has diminished the value of the Ranji Trophy. The Indian skipper said many players who are representing the country at the top level have come after playing in the domestic circuit.

India suffered a 2-0 ODI series loss against Sri Lanka, which is their first series loss in 27 years against the Island country. Indian batters failed to deliver against the Sri Lankan spinners in favorable conditions and thus a lot of questions have been asked.

India’s batting looked toothless during the entire series as they failed to chase down scores of 231, 241, and 249.

Rohit Sharma said in the post-match press conference, “That’s always been our goal – to make sure that guys who are available go and play Ranji Trophy. Our domestic cricket is the backbone of our international cricket. A lot of the guys who are now representing the country have come up playing domestic cricket, so our domestic cricket is crucial for everyone. We want to make sure that it stays competitive.

“We get players from our domestic circuit, not so much from IPL. When you choose players for Test and ODI cricket, a lot of discussion happens on who is doing well in Ranji Trophy, one-day format, Syed Mushtaq Ali and stuff like that,” the Indian captain added.

Rohit noted that players doing well in domestic tournaments and the IPL are preferred to be picked in the national squad.

“IPL is, of course, one format where the challenges are different. It’s a competition of both. IPL is also our cricket – it’s Indian Premier League. At the end of the day, whoever does well in all of these tournaments eventually will get picked up,” Rohit went on to comment.

On the other hand, Rohit admitted they are used to playing on turning tracks back home and don’t want to use it as an excuse for the series loss.

“Playing spin, playing against slow bowlers on slow pitches – that shouldn’t be an excuse for us. We all play on these kinds of pitches. It’s all about just having that game plan and being very clear with your plans,” the Indian captain conceded.

India will next host Bangladesh for two Test matches and three T20Is.