Jharkhand batsman-keeper Ishan Kishan has been giving signals that he is unwilling to play first-class cricket and is only interested in the Indian Premier League. Now, the BCCI may decide to require players to play a minimum number of Ranji Trophy matches in order to be eligible for the league’s rich auction pool. According to a news report, Kishan has already received instructions from BCCI brass to play Jharkhand’s final group league match against Rajasthan in Jamshedpur beginning on February 16. Notably, Kishan’s repeated absences from matches due to “travel fatigue” following his mid-tour return from South Africa have not gone down well with the decision-makers in the Indian cricket establishment.

Particularly after it was discovered that, despite his state team’s near-bottom position in group A, he is training in Baroda with his new MI captain, Hardik Pandya.

Most people at the helm agree that stringent rules must be followed to prevent a group of young players from “playing IPL to IPL” as a habit.

“The decision makers in BCCI are well aware that some players don’t want to play any red ball cricket. If they are out of Indian team, they would at best play a few Mushtaq Ali T20 games and then not report for state team duty during red ball season,” a senior BCCI official told PTI.

“To rein in such players, board in all likelihood will make it mandatory to play 3-4 Ranji Trophy games, failing which, they can’t play IPL or even appear in IPL auction if released by their franchise,” he said.