Despite BCCI's diktat, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul to miss next Ranji Trophy round: Report

Despite the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) making domestic cricket mandatory to get selected for the Indian cricket team, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul are set to miss the next round of Ranji Trophy games from 23 January.

Kohli and Rahul have reportedly informed the BCCI medical staff that they are carrying niggles and would miss the upcoming domestic cricket matches, ESPNCricinfo reported.

Kohli and Rahul are nursing niggles

Kohli reportedly experienced neck pain and received an injection on 8 January, three days after the Border-Gavaskar Trophy concluded in Sydney. He informed the BCCI medical staff that the pain persisted, leading to his unavailability for Delhi’s match against Saurashtra in Rajkot.

Rahul, meanwhile, has an elbow issue, forcing him to sit out of Karnataka’s match against Punjab in Bengaluru.

As per the new 10-point diktat that BCCI has implemented recently, any player missing domestic cricket will need to get approval from the BCCI selectors.

Kohli and Rahul have another chance to participate in the Ranji Trophy, with the final group stage round beginning on 20 January. But those matches conclude just before the ODI series against England, starting on 6 February.

Both Kohli and Rahul are in contention for the England ODIs and the Champions Trophy, with squads set to be announced on Saturday.