‘India or franchise cricket?’: Ravi Shastri calls for new clause in IPL contracts, asks players to decide priority

Former Indian cricketer Ravi Shastri has taken a swipe at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) following Team India’s disappointing performance against Australia in the first innings of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final. Shastri urged the cricket board to prioritize the interests of Team India and introduce a clause in the Indian Premier League (IPL) to support this.

India’s top-order and bowling unit failed to deliver against Australia, conceding a whopping 469 runs in the first innings and finishing Day 2 with a scorecard reading 151/5. 

This was a major setback for the team, especially for the top order comprising Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Virat Kohli, who had played the entire IPL but failed to meet expectations.

“You must set your priorities, right? What is the priority? India or franchise cricket? You have to decide that. If you say franchise cricket, then forget this (WTC final). If this is important, then as the custodian of the sport, the BCCI are the bosses,” Ravi Shastri said on Star Sports.

“There should be a clause in the IPL contract that if they need a player out of the IPL in the interest of India, they have the right to do it.”

“First, put the clause and then ask the franchises to decide how much they want to invest. That is very important. You are the custodian of the sport. You control cricket in the country,” he added.

The highly anticipated WTC final saw Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill fall short of expectations for Team India. The two top-order batters were dismissed cheaply, with Kohli scoring 14 and Gill scoring 13. This was surprising, given that they had both smashed two and three centuries, respectively, in the recently concluded IPL 2023.

Rohit Sharma, who had a lackluster IPL season with the bat, also failed to deliver for Team India. He only managed to score 15 runs in the first innings of the ultimate Test.

On Day 1, India struggled as Australia finished with a commanding score of 327/3. However, the Indian bowling unit bounced back and managed to bundle out Australia for 469. Mohammed Siraj was the standout bowler, picking up crucial wickets but conceding 108 runs. Mohammed Shami also contributed with two wickets but conceded 122 runs. It’s worth noting that the duo had finished with 19 and 28 wickets, respectively, in IPL 2023.

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