Saurashtra's title-winning coach Karsan Ghavri supports BCCI's decision not to conduct the national championship; Bengal coach Arun Lal concerned over massive monetary loss to domestic cricketers
Saurashtra batsman Arpit Vasavada celebrates his century while teammate Cheteshwar Pujara (right) looks on during the Ranji Trophy final against Bengal at Rajkot in March last year. Pic/PTI
For the first time in 87 years, the BCCI will not conduct India's premier domestic cricket tournament, the Ranji Trophy. Instead, the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy, women's one-day tournament and the U-19 Vinoo Mankad Trophy will be played in the COVID-hit season.
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The Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament which concludes today, was successfully conducted in a bio-secure bubble.
The BCCI's decision was communicated to all state associations on Friday. Although the letter did not mention when these tournaments will kick off, it is learnt that the BCCI is looking to start them in mid-February. The Vijay Hazare Trophy and the women's one-day tournament will be conducted simultaneously, according to BCCI secretary Jay Shah's letter to the state associations.
Karsan Ghavri and J Arun Lal
The Board had estimated 67 days to complete the Ranji Trophy. The reason it has decided against it is because it would have left them with no scope to conduct other domestic tournaments.
'Relevant decision'
With the T20 World Cup to be held this year and an U-19 World Cup next year, the BCCI felt it was prudent to conduct a 50-over and U-19 tournaments.
Karsan Ghavri, who coached Saurashtra to their maiden Ranji title in 2019-20, agreed with BCCI's decision. "It is very logical. Due to the pandemic, it is important to see which tournament will be more beneficial or relevant," Ghavri told mid-day on Saturday. "Five to six Ranji Trophy league matches of four-day duration can make the season really long. Then in the knockouts, each match could go up to five days. There are 38 state teams and it is a very big task.
"So, I don't see anything wrong with BCCI deciding to do away with the Ranji Trophy this time. Everybody is aware why it won't be played and we are getting a women's and U-19 tournaments in that span of time, which is absolutely fantastic," added the former India pacer.
Big blow for cricketers
J Arun Lal, who was Bengal's coach when they lost to Saurashtra in the last Ranji final, is concerned over the loss of income for India's domestic cricketers with the Ranji Trophy not taking place. "We thought the Ranji Trophy would be played, but COVID-19 has taken a lot of things out of our lives. We are all surprised and even shocked but we have to accept it. For first-class cricketers, it is a big blow.
"They won't be able to showcase their talent and secondly, their income will take a massive hit. I hope the BCCI will try to compensate them appropriately. The Indian team did very well in Australia and it is due to the Ranji Trophy," said Arun Lal.
The BCCI, at their recent AGM, had decided to compensate first-class cricketers if the Ranji Trophy wouldn't be held. Its treasurer, Arun Dhumal in an interview to PTI on Saturday, assured that the earnings of domestic cricketers will be taken care of.
Ghavri also spoke about the difficulty for groundsmen. "To play six to seven league matches at one centre on the same pitch would have made it difficult for our groundsmen. There would be hardly any time to prepare sporting pitches. So, in a way, it is good that the Ranji Trophy is not conducted in such circumstances," he said.
Meanwhile, Arun Lal's challenge now is to shift the focus of his team to white-ball cricket since Bengal were practising with the red-ball.
"As far as Bengal cricket is concerned, we were finalists last season. We vowed to become champions in 2021 after we lost to Saurashtra. We will now shift focus to the Vijay Hazare Trophy. My message to the team is to look ahead and don't get disappointed," said the former India batsman.
With inputs from Debasish Datta
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