Rohit Sharma Set To Play Ranji Trophy Against J&K

Rohit Sharma has confirmed his participation in the upcoming Ranji Trophy match against Jammu & Kashmir. Once he steps onto the field at the Wankhede stadium from Jan 23-26 it will be the first time after a decade that Rohit Sharma will be playing in the Ranji Trophy. Rohit Sharma last played in the Ranji Trophy back in 2015 against Uttar Pradesh at the very same venue.

The Indian captain made the revelation while addressing the media during the announcement of the Champions Trophy squad and the England ODI series. While addressing a question on his involvement in the domestic circuit Rohit quipped- "Yes I'll Play".

Rohit was supposedly in a dilemma that a red ball game is an ideal preparation for the Champions Trophy, Rohit stated that such adjustments aren't new to him & are not an issue for his preparation.

Rohit on his Ranji Participation

"It's not new for me I've had these experiences in the past, I've been playing for so long & when you play all three formats you've to make these adjustments, there have been situations when you prepare for a red-ball game and then suddenly a T20 format comes up, this is not new to me," Rohit said.

Rohit has joined the Mumbai team and was seen training with the Mumbai players for a day. He is likely to continue practicing with the squad till the match starts on January 23. The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) said the team for the Ranji game will be selected on January 20.

Rohit is the latest among a host of top internationals who have adhered to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) directive that players must participate in domestic cricket when free. Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, and Yashasvi Jaiswal have all made themselves available for their respective state teams. All of them, including Rohit, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, and Ravindra Jadeja, have been picked in the Champions Trophy squad.

However, there is still no confirmation so far from Jadeja about his participation in Saurashtra's next Ranji match. A Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) had stated that Jadeja will inform about his decision on Sunday.

Saurashtra is set to play Delhi in Rajkot, a match which the Delhi team will play without Virat Kohli, however, Rishabh Pant is likely to feature for Delhi against Saurashtra. Meanwhile, there is no update on KL Rahul's participation for Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy as yet.