Wasim Jaffer urges key Indian players to feature in Ranji Trophy: “You don’t want to be undercooked when you play that first Test”

With the one-day series against New Zealand in the bag, Wasim Jaffer reckons India’s key players must feature in the Ranji Trophy instead of the dead rubber against the visitors on Tuesday (January 24). The former India opener made the observation while keeping the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia in mind.

The Men in Blue thumped New Zealand by eight wickets in Raipur on Saturday (January 21) to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. The next round of the Ranji Trophy begins on January 24, the same day as India’s third ODI against the Kiwis, which will be played at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore.

India haven’t played a lot of Tests recently. While KL Rahul and Virat Kohli were part of the 2-0 triumph in Bangladesh in December, captain Rohit Sharma hasn’t played a Test since March 2022. Admitting that Team India players need some red ball practice, Jaffer said during a discussion on ESPNcricinfo:

“I think it (playing Ranji Trophy) will make a lot of sense. If they play maybe one game - two innings in a Ranji game – that will surely help. No matter how experienced you are, you surely need that game time, especially in red ball cricket. You don’t want to be undercooked when you play that first Test.”

Elaborating on the significance of the Test series, Jaffer added that India need to go in with the best preparation possible. He said:

“It’s a huge series from all perspectives - whether it’s the World Test Championship (WTC) final that India can get into or can become world No. 1 Test side as well. India need to do everything that they can so they are ready for that first Test match. Virat Kohli hasn’t played a lot of Test cricket for a while; Rohit and lot of others as well.”

While India won the Test series in Bangladesh, both Kohli and Rahul failed to make an impact in the two red ball games on tour.

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“He is going to play a lot of Test cricket in Pant’s absence” - Wasim Jaffer on KS Bharat

Continuing with the discussion, Jaffer said that KS Bharat should definitely be released from the one-day squad and allowed to play Ranji Trophy, as he's highly unlikely to feature in the Indore ODI.

Speaking about the keeper-batter, he said:

“(It is) more likely that KS Bharat is not going to play the third ODI. It makes sense to send him to play that Ranji game. He is more likely to play in place of Rishabh Pant. He has big shoes to fill. He is going to play a lot of Test cricket in Pant’s absence.”

With Pant out of action following his horrific car accident, Bharat is likely to take over keeping duties in Tests. Ishan Kishan has been picked as the other option behind the stumps for the first two Tests against Australia.