BCCI's Stern Mandate Amid India vs Sri Lanka Squad Announcement That Will Impact Future Selections

The BCCI's media statement announcing the India cricket squad for the Sri Lanka Tour was an interesting one. Both the ODI and T20I squads had several interesting choices and omissions. Suryakumar's promotion as India T20I captain and Pandya's demotion from the leadership group were the main talking points. However, there was one line in the statement which seemed to convey a strong message. The BCCI media statement said that the Board "will continue to monitor player availability and participation in the upcoming domestic cricket season, 2024-25."

This is a direct message to the players who aspire to play for the national team.

Assam's Riyan Parag has reaped benefits for his stupendous performance in last year's Vijay Hazare National one dayers where he scored seven half-centuries. It has been learnt that national selection committee will give full importance to domestic cricket performances.

Rookie pacer Harshit Rana, who had 19 wickets for KKR in this year's IPL and was selected for the first two Zimbabwe T20Is, has been included in the ODI squad as it is believed that the selectors think it is the best time to broaden their pool of pacers and check how they fare at the elite level.

Recently, a PTI report claimed BCCI secretary Jay Shah has made it clear that even star cricketers must make themselves available for domestic engagements when they are free from national duty. But exceptions will be made for the likes of Rohit, Virat Kohli and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah. The BCCI would, however, want all the other Test specialists to play at least one if not a couple of Duleep Trophy games in August as a precursor to the Tests against Bangladesh and New Zealand.

"This time there is no zonal selection committee for