Not Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill First To Make Ranji Trophy Commitment

What comes as a big development after India’s disappointing Border-Gavaskar Trophy campaign, Shubman Gill has reportedly made himself available for Punjab’s Ranji Trophy campaign. While India captain Rohit Sharma has already hit the nets with the Mumbai Ranji Trophy team, Gill has also made himself available for selection. The developments show a much more promising picture concerning Indian players’ red-ball commitment after head coach Gautam Gambhir expressed his desire to see players giving domestic cricket a priority amid poor form.

Gill was among those batters who struggled for runs in Australia. He was also dropped from the Melbourne Test as the team management preferred to play KL Rahul in the middle-order instead.

“Yes, Shubman Gill is available for Punjab’s Ranji match against Karnataka on January 23,” Hindustan Times quoted a source within the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) saying.

Gill wasn’t picked for India’s T20I series against England, starting January 22. Instead of sulking in the setback, the top-order batter decided to make use of his time to sharpen his skills in the Ranji Trophy.

Earlier, a report in the paper had also confirmed that Rohit Sharma joined the Mumbai Ranji Trophy team in the nets, though he hasn’t confirmed yet if he intends to play the next round match against Jammu & Kashmir.

“Rohit will come to train today with the Ranji trophy team. The entire lineup will be there. Ajinkya Rahane, Shardul Thakur and Shreyas Iyer will also turn up,” an MCA source told the paper. “Rohit hasn’t told us whether he will be available for the Ranji match on January 23. He will confirm to us in due course,” the report said.

It was later found out that Rohit did bat in the nets with Mumbai skipper Ajinkya Rahane, hoping to rediscover his red-ball charisma despite reports suggesting that his career in the longest format might have come to an end.