The fans are eagerly waiting for a word on Virat Kohli's and Rohit Sharma's participation in the ongoing Ranji Trophy season. Virat hasn't played the premier domestic tournament since 2012 while Rohit last featured in it in 2018. Virat has stayed away from domestic cricket since 2013. Rohit last turned up for the Mumbai state team in 2018.

The BCCI has now made it compulsory for players to participate in domestic cricket and many stars are expected to feature in the remaining matches of Ranji Trophy. Neither Virat nor Rohit is confirmed to play in the Ranji Trophy.

There used to be a time when India stars regularly featured in domestic cricket. Sachin Tendulkar travelled to Lahli in Haryana to play a Ranji Trophy match before he gave up international cricket a few weeks later. VVS Laxman turned up for Hyderabad even after retiring from international cricket. Sourav Ganguly, who retired in 2008, continued to play for Bengal till 2012.

The players never missed any opportunity to serve their respective state teams. Hindustan Times has reported that Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble were once terribly upset at missing a Ranji Trophy game against Hyderabad in 2000.

Karnataka took on Hyderabad in the semi-final of the red-ball tournament in April 2000. Mohammad Azharuddin-led Hyderabad registered a huge total of 711/8 on the board. Laxman hit 353 while Azharuddin scored 123. Karnataka scored 557 in response but they conceded a first-innings lead and failed to make it to the final.

As per the report, both Dravid and Kumble missed the Ranji Trophy due to county cricket commitments. Dravid had signed with Kent while Kumble played for Leicestershire.

Sachin Tendulkar-starrer Mumbai defeated Hyderabad in the final to lift the Ranji Trophy. Vinod Kambli scored a century in Mumbai's first innings while Sachin hit a ton in the second innings.

Rishabh Pant has confirmed that he will turn for Delhi in the next game against Saurashtra. He last played a Ranji Trophy fixture in the 2017/18 season. He captained Delhi to the final of the season. Rishabh wasn't named in the T20I squad for the England series.

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