'Marked their attendance and left' - Aakash Chopra lashes out at Rohit Sharma and Co. for skipping ongoing Ranji Trophy round
After playing the sixth round of the Ranji Trophy 2024-25, the likes of Rohit, Pant, Gill, Jaiswal and Iyer have given the seventh round a miss.
The return of senior cricketers like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to domestic cricket was welcomed by fans and experts. However, Aakash Chopra isn't too pleased with how some of the cricketers left the scene after appearing in just one round of matches in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25.
Rohit, Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, and Ravindra Jadeja were some of the senior players who featured for their respective teams in the sixth round. However, apart from Jadeja, all others are missing from the ongoing seventh round.
Meanwhile, senior batter Virat Kohli, who missed the previous round due to a neck sprain, is representing Delhi against Railways at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Like Kohli, KL Rahul is also playing in the seventh round after missing the previous one due to a niggle.
Chopra lambasted this aspect, saying that this has made playing in the Ranji Trophy seem like a punishment for the players.
"Virat Kohli is playing, but many others are not, like Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal or Shreyas Iyer. Ultimately, all the players have played their token Ranji Trophy match, marked their attendance and left," Chopra said while speaking on his YouTube channel.
"Virat Kohli hadn't played that round, so he is playing now. What does it tell you? This (playing Ranji Trophy) was a bit of a punishment posting. But playing first-class cricket shouldn't be a punishment, it should be a privilege," he added.
Rahul made his return to the Ranji Trophy after a five-year hiatus. Playing for Karnataka, the 32-year-old was dismissed for 26 by Anshul Kamboj on Day 1.
Meanwhile, around 28,000 fans turned up to the Arun Jaitley Stadium to watch Kohli in action against Railways. However, the passionate spectators had to be content with watching the legendary cricketer fielding during the day. Both Rahul and Kohli are part of India's squad for the three-match ODI series against England, starting on February 6.
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