The ex-opener of Team India veiled a 1st class cricket jersey at the Missing Star
Former opener of Indian cricket team Aakash Chopra is of the strong opinion that players not featuring in international games must play first-class matches. The remarks come in the background of keeper-batter Ishan Kishan missing out on a couple of international series and not playing in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2024 at the same time.
In a video on his YouTube channel, it looks like Chopra is indeed taking a veiled dig at Kishan. The ex-opener cites instances from back in his playing days when legends including Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath, and many more used to play domestic cricket when there was a gap in the international schedule.
Chopra asserts that it is not okay to skip domestic cricket and return to the IPL and use that as a means to gain entry back into the national side. He hopes that the selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar will send a strong message to those skipping first-class cricket.
He added that there can be a few exceptions, like Virat Kohli or Jasprit Bumrah, where the reasons could be personal or workload management. Chopra flags that there are a lot of youngsters who have only played a handful of first-class games. He opines that these players think they can perform in the IPL and get selected for the national side, and that such a mindset has set in.