India`s legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar on Tuesday said playing Ranji Trophy provides national team players an opportunity to go back to basics and also elevate the level of domestic cricket.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India made it compulsory for national team players to play domestic cricket whenever they are not on national duty.

BCCI excluded Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer from its central contract for the year 2024 due to ignorance of the board`s diktat to play in Ranji trophy games.

When India players turn up for their domestic teams, it raises the quality of play for youngsters and sometimes new talent is identified.

"It also gives the national players a chance to sometimes rediscover the basics," Tendulkar posted on X.

"Throughout my career, I remained passionate about playing for Mumbai whenever I had the opportunity. Growing up, we had almost 7-8 India players in our dressing room, and it was fun to play alongside them," Tendulkar added.

Ishan Kishan opted out of the Indian squad during the South Africa tour citing personal reasons. Later, he was told by BCCI to play Ranji Trophy games for his state Jharkhand which he ignored. He instead started the preparations for IPL 2024.