Veteran Delhi wicketkeeper-batsman Anuj Rawat skipped the ongoing Ranji camp at the Arun Jaitley Stadium and attended the practice session of his new IPL team, Gujarat Titans (GT) in Surat on Monday. Delhi are scheduled to face Saurashtra in the second leg of the Ranji Trophy, but Rawat’s inclusion in the IPL camp makes his priorities clear at a time when the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is expecting players to prefer the red-ball format.
Gujarat Titans have started preparations for IPL 2025. According to an official release, “Gujarat Titans are preparing their preparations with a training camp in Surat. Players like Anuj Rawat, Ishant Sharma, Jayant Yadav, Kumar Kushagra, Mahipal Lomror and Arshad Khan along with coaches and sports staff are also involved in this camp. Ishant Sharma had already informed DDCA that he will not play Ranji matches, so there is no controversy over his participation in the IPL camp.
When Ashok Sharma, convening secretary of the state team selection committee of Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA), was asked about Rawat, he said, “I have no information that Anuj has applied to participate in the IPL team camp. Has left the Ranji Trophy camp. He should have taken approval from the State Cricket Board for this. We have two Ranji matches left and the camp continues at Kotla. I don’t know who gave him permission not to go to the Ranji Trophy camp.”
Last year, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) IPL-winning captain Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan lost the BCCI central contract for giving more importance to IPL than domestic cricket. He learned from his mistake and is playing for Mumbai and Jharkhand respectively in all formats in the current season. Anuj Rawat has scored a total of 97 runs in three matches in the current Ranji season with a highest score of 52.
