In a significant development, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has mandated all the current Indian players to play at least two matches in the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy starting from December 24.
The rationale behind mandating every current player to feature in the domestic white-ball tournament is that there is a three-week gap between the end of the T20I series against South Africa on December 19 and the start of the ODI series against New Zealand on January 11.
Moreover, the Board wants to set the rules the same for other players alongside Rohit and Kohli. Both the senior batters have intimated their availability for the tournament, while senior stars like Shubman Gill, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav have also been asked to play at least two games for their respective teams.
The mandate does not apply to Shreyas Iyer, who is nursing his spleen injury.
Vijay Hazare to begin on December 24
Meanwhile, the domestic 50-over tournament will begin on December 24. There are six rounds set to take place before the start of the New Zealand ODIs on January 11.
"There are six rounds of Vijay Hazare Trophy scheduled between December 24 and the start of the New Zealand ODIs. It is up to the players and their state associations to decide which two rounds they would like to play," a senior BCCI official told news agency PTI.
"But after the second T20I in Mullanpur, the players have been categorically told that playing Hazare isn't optional," he added.
Notably, there will be exceptions only if a player is declared unfit by the Centre of Excellence, but officials believe there is enough time to recuperate after the South Africa series.
Since India's 1-3 defeat to Australia in the Border-Gavaskar series, the BCCI has been strict on the Indian players to play in domestic cricket whenever free.
