Follow UsVirat Kohli turned up in a Ranji Trophy game after a gap of 13 years, and that drew a massive crowd into the grounds in Delhi vs Railways encounter. Kohli disappointed his fans with a 15-ball 6, but the number of people who turned up for the game made an X user comment - “Ranji Trophy is blessed.”
That made Ravichandran Ashwin, one of India’s biggest advocates for players’ turning up in domestic cricket regularly, very angry as he said no player is bigger than the sport and fans should turn up to watch all matches with equal vigour.
"It's a great thing when it comes to Virat Kohli. He is extremely motivated. I know that. His intention is to play Test cricket and do well. I actually think he has a lot left in the tank. But all said and done, the crowd that turned up, it was great. Such crowds should be there for every Ranji Trophy match," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel 'Ash Ki Baat'.
"I saw one tweet saying 'Ranji Trophy is blessed'. I would just say, pay some attention. Do you even know the history of the Ranji Trophy? It has been going on for so many years. It has been a premier tournament," he added.
Ashwin cited the example of Sachin Tendulkar, who used to play in the domestic tournament whenever he was free from national duty.
"Sachin Tendulkar, who is a legendary cricketer, used to play the Ranji Trophy at all times. Players benefit from playing in the tournament. For cricket, players are not important, but for players, cricket is very important," the former Indian all-rounder explained.