Ishan Kishan fiasco: BCCI might make playing 3-4 Ranji games mandatory for IPL participation
Mumbai, Feb 13: Jharkhand keeper-batter Ishan Kishan's reluctance to play first-class cricket and focus only on the IPL could prompt the BCCI to make a minimum number of Ranji Trophy games mandatory for players in order to be eligible for the cash-rich league's lucrative auction pool.
It has been learnt that BCCI brass has already instructed Kishan to play Jharkhand's last group league game against Rajasthan in Jamshedpur, starting February 16.
The manner in which Kishan had skipped match after match after returning midway from South Africa tour citing "travel fatigue" hasn't exactly gone down well with men who matter in the Indian cricket establishment.
More so after it was found that he is training in Baroda with his new MI skipper Hardik Pandya while his state team is languishing near bottom of group A table.
There is a general consensus that a strict policy need to be adhered to so that a group of young players don't make "playing IPL to IPL" a habit.
"The decision makers in BCCI are well aware that some players don't want to play any red ball cricket. If they are out of Indian team, they would at best play a few Mushtaq Ali T20 games and then not report for state team duty during red ball season," a senior BCCI official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
"To rein in such players, board in all likelihood will make it mandatory to play 3-4 Ranji Trophy games, failing which, they can't play IPL or even appear in IPL auction if released by their franchise.
"The state units feel unless the diktat comes from top of BCCI, some of the young stars will treat Ranji Trophy with disdain."
It is understood that even Indian team's think-tank are pissed off with a certain section of players, who are always reluctant to play Ranji Trophy even when they are fit.
"We can understand Hardik Pandya's case as his body can't take the rigours of red ball cricket. He can't withstand the workload of Test cricket and India needs him fit for ICC events.
"But some of the other youngsters, whenever you call them, they will cite that they are currently doing physio work. There needs to be a stop somewhere," the official said.
It will be interesting to find out if Kishan finally leaves his "new training base" in Baroda and is back in Jamshedpur for Jharkhand's final game of the tournament.
Asked if Kishan would find himself out of BCCI retainership (he has a grade C annual contract of Rs 1 crore), the official said: "No discussions have taken place as of now regarding central contracts."
No workload related instruction from BCCI to IPL teams
With ICC T20 World Cup in the Americas, starting from June 1 and India playing their opening game on June 5 in New York, the workload of India's core group of players during the IPL, which is going to be tentatively scheduled between March 22 to May 26, will be very important.
However, it is understood that no Indian players are supposed to be given any instructions about workload management during IPL as it is also not being fair with the franchises, who are paying top dollar to star Indian players.
"They are being paid highly and they can't pick and choose games for franchises. But yes, for all those centrally contracted and targetted players (next lot), the franchise's support staff will have to regularly provide fitness update to the NCA Sports Science head Nitin Patel."
It is understood that BCCI might send the players, whose teams don't qualify for the IPL play-offs, earlier to New York, while those who play the knock-out stages joining them after the tournament gets over.
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Jharkhand horror: Man kills live-in partner, chops body into 40 pieces
Ranchi (PTI): A 25-year-old man, who works as a butcher, allegedly strangled to death his live-in partner and chopped her body into 40 to 50 pieces in a forested area in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, police said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Naresh Bhengra, was arrested.
The matter came to light after around a fortnight after the killing when a stray dog was found with human body parts near Jordag village in Jariagarh police station on November 24.
Bhengra was in a live-in relationship with the deceased, a 24-year-old woman also from Khunti district, in Tamil Nadu for the past couple of years. Sometime back, he returned to Jharkhand, got married to another woman without telling his partner anything and went back to the southern state without his wife to join her.
"The brutal incident occurred on November 8 when they reached Khunti as the accused who had married another woman did not wish to take her home. Instead, he took her to a forest near his house at Jordag village in Jariagarh police station and chopped the body into pieces. The man has been arrested," Khunti Superintendent of Police Aman Kumar told PTI.
Inspector Ashok Singh who investigated the case said the man worked in a butcher shop in Tamil Nadu and was expert in slicing chicken.
“He admitted chopping the body parts of the woman into 40 to 50 pieces before leaving those in the forest for wild animals to feast on. The police recovered several parts on November 24 after a dog in the area was seen with a hand," Singh told PTI.
Singh said that the woman, who was unaware of his marriage, pressured him to return to Khunti. After reaching Ranchi, they boarded a train on November 24 and headed to the man's village.
"Under a plan, the man took her to Khunti in an autorickshaw near his home and asked her to wait. He returned with sharp weapons and strangulated her with her dupatta after raping her. He then cut the body into 40 to 50 pieces and left for his home to live with his wife," Singh said.
The woman, however, had informed her mother that she had boarded a train and would be living with her partner, the police officer said.
Following the recovery of body parts, a bag was also found in the forest with the murdered woman's belongings including her Aadhaar card. The mother of the woman was called at the spot and she identified her daughter's belongings.
"The mother suspected the man behind the crime who after being nabbed by the police admitted to chopping the woman into pieces," the official added.
The incident has sent shockwaves among people in the region, with the Shraddha Walker murder case of 2022 still fresh in their memory.
Walker was killed by her live-in partner who chopped her body into pieces before dumping them in the jungle in South Delhi’s Mehrauli.
