India captain Rohit, Yashasvi named in Mumbai squad for next Ranji game
Mumbai, Jan 20 (PTI): India captain Rohit Sharma will show up in a Ranji Trophy match for the first time in almost a decade after he and rising star Yashasvi Jaiswal were named in Mumbai's squad for their fixture against Jammu and Kashmir, starting January 23 at MCA-BKC Ground here.
The team will continue to be led by the seasoned Ajinkya Rahane, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) said while announcing the squad on Monday.
Rohit had confirmed his participation for the next round of the Ranji Trophy match on Saturday during a press conference to announce India's squads for limited-overs series against England and the Champions Trophy next month.
When asked if he would play in the next domestic game for his state team, Rohit replied, "I will".
Of late there have been questions over Rohit's form in the longest format after his forgettable outing in his last eight Tests, including against New Zealand at home and against Australia Down Under.
The India skipper had showed up for a training session for Mumbai on January 15 as it became clear after the team's disastrous tour of Australia that the BCCI has made it mandatory for the players to feature in domestic circuit.
Soon after, Jaiswal too joined the Mumbai camp which trained at the BKC ground as he had a few batting sessions with his domestic team.
The BCCI recently made it mandatory for all contracted India players to participate in domestic cricket except when there are fitness issues.
Rohit had cited a busy schedule with the national team among reasons for not playing domestic cricket.
"(In) the last 6-7 years, I can at least tell about what has happened with me since I've started playing Test cricket regularly, which is from 2019, you hardly have any time (in hand)," he told media.
"And then, when you play so much international cricket through the year, you need some time off as well as a cricketer just to refresh, get your mind right, just to be ready for the upcoming season."
"But we have addressed it now and nobody takes it for granted or anything like that. It is just based on looking at how one has gone through the season, how much rest he needs.
"Based on all of that, we decide what is going to happen with certain players. Now it's been made mandatory that if there is time, you have to play domestic cricket,” he said.
Mumbai squad: Ajinkya Rahane (captain), Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ayush Mhatre, Shreyas Iyer, Siddhesh Lad, Shivam Dube, Hardik Tamore (wk), Akash Anand (wk), Tanush Kotian, Shams Mulani, Himanshu Singh, Shardul Thakur, Mohit Awasthi, Sylvester Dsouza, Royston Dias, Karsh Kothari.
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Opposition raking up Dalit CM issue to divert attention: Karnataka Minister
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Monday accused the opposition of "unnecessarily stoking" the debate over a Dalit Chief Minister to deflect attention from governance.
He asserted that only the Congress has the commitment to elevate a Dalit leader to the top post.
Speaking to reporters here, Parameshwara said the ongoing discussion on a Dalit Chief Minister was being amplified by opposition parties.
“This is the work of the opposition. To hide their own failures, they are raising the issue of the Chief Minister. Isn’t the administration running smoothly? Isn’t the Chief Minister governing?” he asked.
The Minister noted that for the past 10–12 days, detailed budget discussions had been held across departments and governance was progressing normally.
Parameshwara, who is a Dalit, said the Congress alone had the history and political will to make a Dalit Chief Minister.
“Yes, it must be the Congress party. Who else will do it?” he said, while clarifying that the timing of any such decision would be determined by the party high command.
On Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s media statement targeting the JD(S) and invoking social justice, Parameshwara said Siddaramaiah had earlier been part of the JD(S) and even served as its president before being expelled.
He noted that the internal history of that party was best known to those within it and declined to comment on specific internal matters.
Defending the Chief Minister’s ideological position, Parameshwara said Siddaramaiah’s politics had always been rooted in social justice and that there was nothing new or opportunistic about his stance.
The Chief Minister, he said, had consistently built his political career on that foundation.
