India, Feb. 2 -- Following the disappointing series losses at home to New Zealand followed by a chastening Border-Gavaskar Trophy campaign down under, many of India's Test unit returned to action in the closing rounds of the Ranji Trophy for their domestic teams. This followed a new mandate by the BCCI regarding players keeping their red-ball skills sharp by participating in the domestic competition.

According to Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar, however, there is far more value to this decision and the participation of stars such as Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Rishabh Pant than just meeting the BCCI's demands.

Writing in his column for Mid-day, Gavaskar said: "The India team players may have participated in the Ranji Trophy simply to ti...