The Indian team management has come up with a programme to regulate the amount of Ranji Trophy games for the One-Day specialists. As per the reports of Times of India (TOI) has learned that crucial players like Kedar Jadhav, Shikhar Dhawan and Yuzvendra Chahal, who are almost certainties for next year’s World Cup, will not be available for all Ranji Trophy matches for their respective state teams this season.

While it was logistically impractical for Chahal and Dhawan to have made it for the ongoing round of the tournament because the T20I series in Australia ended late on Sunday, Jadhav skipped Maharashtra’s match against Karnataka which started on Wednesday.

Describing the same, one of the sources of TOI said, “Indian team’s trainer Shankar Basu and physio Patrick Farhart have put the ODI specialists on a programme to monitor their workload. It’s not that they have been completely barred from playing Ranji but they will need clearances from the team management. Given the World Cup is just seven months away, the team management doesn’t want to disturb the core of the team. Jadhav has a history of breaking down frequently. So they need to be cautious with him.”

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However, Chahal is yet to come back to India from Australia as he has asked for leave due to personal reasons. He is likely to be back in India by December 10. Even, Dhawan has also not committed to the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA). The Delhi selectors were informed that he will not be able to make it for the match that started here on Wednesday. They will get in touch with the opener to know if he will be available for the next match from Dec 6.

TOI’s report also suggested that Dhawan is a bit reluctant to play Ranji since he has been left out of India’s red-ball scheme of things. Describing the same, one of their sources said, “He has his family in Melbourne and the ODI squad will assemble back in Australia in the first week of January for the ODI series. Like Ambati Rayudu, who has given up playing first-class cricket to focus on his World Cup prospects, Dhawan is also now focused on performing well in the shorter formats. He may turn up for Delhi if he feels he needs match practice.”

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This trend of One-Day specialists skipping Ranji matches started from last season when Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, and Jadhav skipped a round of Ranji matches to be at the NCA. Given the schedule, it seems Chahal will be available for Haryana for one match from Dec 14. 

Talking about the same, a BCCI official said, “There has been no official communication to the state teams from either the Indian team management or BCCI. The board must be aware that the interests of the state members makes the board strong.”