'Did they go to the NCA for treatment?' - Sunil Gavaskar slams star India players for missing out Ranji Trophy matches

India's former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar questioned the absence of star players like Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, and Mohammed Siraj from the previous round of the Ranji Trophy tournament, where other players participated. These three players were reportedly injured before the game. Gavaskar mentioned an interesting point where, as per the BCCI guidelines, if the players are signed, they will have to report to the NCA for recovery. In the case of these players, nothing of that sort happened. 

"It would be interesting to see if KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj, and Virat Kohli, who didn’t play in last week’s round of Ranji Trophy matches, will play the next round. More interesting would be what action the BCCI takes if they don’t play. Were they injured? Getting a medical certificate for an ‘injury’ is child’s play, and if they are injured, did they go to the NCA for treatment and recovery, as Nitish Reddy was sent the moment he had that side strain?" 

From the T20I team, Nitish Reddy was sent to NCA as he suffered a side strain injury before the second game against England. As per the former player, the same treatment should be given to the other players as well, but the Board ignored it and allowed them to participate in the upcoming Ranji Trophy game. 

Sunil Gavaskar blamed BCCI for not being stern with players

The former India cricketer blamed the BCCI for not punishing the players for missing out on the previous Ranji match. He cited the examples of Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer, who were banned from the BCCI contracts for not playing in the Ranji Trophy. 

"The BCCI and the coach’s insistence on the Indian players playing in the Ranji Trophy meant that most of the players who were on the disastrous tour of Australia turned up for their state teams in the Ranji Trophy. Whether their hearts were in it or they did that only to ensure they were not stripped of their BCCI contracts, like Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer were, after missing out on the Ranji Trophy games last year, is known only to them," wrote Gavaskar.