'Getting medical certificate is child’s play': Gavaskar warns BCCI after Kohli, KL Rahul missed Ranji tie due to injury

India captain Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer will not be part of the sixth round of the Ranji Trophy group stage, but the cynosure of the final round of India's premier domestic red-ball tournament has been the return of Virat Kohli and KL Rahul. However, ahead of their respective returns on Wednesday, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar sent a warning to BCCI over their fresh diktat on domestic cricket participation. India's Virat Kohli (R) talks to KL Rahul between the overs on day three of the third Test match between Australia and India(AFP)

The mandate was part of BCCI's 10-point diktat which was enforced in the wake of India's horrendous show on the tour of Australia, with even head coach Gautam Gambhir urging India regulars to prioritise domestic cricket when away from national duty.

"Participation in Domestic Matches is mandatory for players to remain eligible for selection in the national team and for central contracts, as per BCCI guidelines. This policy ensures that players remain connected to the domestic cricket ecosystem, fostering talent development, maintaining match fitness, and strengthening the overall domestic structure. It also inspires emerging players by providing them opportunities to compete alongside top cricketers, ensuring continuity in talent progression. Any exceptions to this mandate will be considered only under extraordinary circumstances and will require formal notification and approval from the Chairman of the Selection Committee, ensuring fairness and transparency in the process," read the rule.

Following the announcement, many India stars made themselves available for the fifth round of the Ranji Trophy after the tournament resumed following the white-ball season on January 23. However, Kohli and Rahul skipped their respective matches owing to injury. The 36-year-old suffered a neck sprain, while the Karnataka batter incurred an elbow injury.

'Getting a medical certificate for an ‘injury’ is child’s play'

Ahead of the return of Kohli and Rahul in the final round of the group stage, Gavaskar, in his column for Sportstar, admitted that he is waiting to see what punishment players get if they skip a domestic game, warning BCCI that getting a medical certificate has now become easy. He said that if injury is the reason behind skipping a game, they should report to the National Cricket Academy with BCCI's medical team to decide the degree of the blow.

He wrote: "More interesting would be what action the BCCI takes if they don’t play. Were they injured? Getting a medical certificate for an ‘injury’ is child’s play, and if they are injured, did they go to the NCA for treatment and recovery, as Nitish Reddy was sent the moment he had that side strain?"

"Isn’t that the practice for the BCCI-contracted players, that as soon as there’s an injury, they have to report to the NCA, and only after the BCCI experts there certify them as fit can they resume playing for India? For all we know, these players might have opted out of the earlier games for non-injury reasons. We shall soon find out."

Kohli will play for Delhi in the match against Railways at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, while Rahul will be part of Karnataka's match against Haryana in Bengaluru.

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