News India Live, Digital Desk: A news is coming out from the world of Indian cricket, which has shocked everyone, from veterans to fans. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has sent a strict and direct message to all the senior players of Team India, including the two biggest superstars of Team India, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. The message is clear – “If you want to retain your place in the Indian team, you will have to participate in domestic cricket.” This is the first time that BCCI has taken such a tough stance on such big players. This decision is not just a warning but is being considered as a big step to decide the future direction of Indian cricket. Why did BCCI need to take this step? There are some solid reasons behind this big decision. For some time, it was being seen that many senior players were not participating in domestic tournaments like Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy either citing injury or in the name of ‘workload management’. They were seen playing directly in IPL and international matches only. The biggest example of this was seen in the form of Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer, who had to lose their central contracts due to not playing domestic cricket. BCCI believes that: Domestic cricket is the real foundation: A place in the team should not be ‘taken for granted’ for any player. Only by playing domestic cricket, a player can prove his form, fitness and match practice. Inspiration for young players: When legends like Virat and Rohit play in Ranji Trophy, it not only adds to the value of that tournament, but the young players get to learn a lot from them in the dressing room. Measurement of form and fitness: There is a world of difference between just practicing in the nets and playing in the real match. Domestic cricket gives the selectors an opportunity to see how the players are performing in real match conditions. Will Kohli and Rohit be seen playing in Ranji now? BCCI Secretary Jay Shah is very serious about this rule. This means that whenever Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are on a break from international cricket, they will be expected to be available for their respective domestic teams (Mumbai and Delhi). This decision is the beginning of a new era in Indian cricket, where work and performance will be given more importance than name. Now it will be interesting to see how Team India’s ‘King’ and ‘Hitman’ react to this new rule. But one thing is certain – now the path of Team India’s blue jersey will pass through domestic cricket grounds only.