Amid threats of cancellation of the Ranji Trophy for the second successive year, BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal said the board is exploring the option of hosting the country’s premier domestic first-class competition as a two-phase event.
Dhumal said the Indian board is planning to conduct the Ranji Trophy in two phases after the existing regime was forced to postpone the tournament due to the third wave of the pandemic in the country.
The Ranji Trophy was set for a much-anticipated start on January 13 across venues in India. But the BCCI had to call that off and announce a 15-day delay because of the latest rise in Covid-19 cases in states where the major cricketing centres are based.
In this short period, the board has discussions back and forth with the state associations, who are very keen to have a Ranji Trophy this year, provided health security is taken care of. The BCCI is thus thinking along the lines of hosting the Elite and Plate round matches in one phase and the knock-outs in another, potentially after the end of IPL 2022.
If a full-fledged Ranji Trophy starts today and is played in one unhindered flow, the tournament will clash with IPL 2022, which starts on March 27 – a scenario that BCCI has always looked to avoid.
“We are exploring the possibility of staging Ranji Trophy, cases were going up when it was postponed, now they seem to be coming down.
The operations team is working on whether we can do the league stage next month and complete the rest of the tournament later [post IPL],”
Dhumal was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
If this plan materialises, the Ranji knock-outs could be held in the months of June, July or August, a period of monsoons in most parts of India. That is a major worry, but Dhumal said the BCCI operations team is currently working out all the logistics and weather issues will also be taken into account.
Featuring 38 teams, the Ranji Trophy is a major source of earning and sustenance for a large section of Indian domestic cricketers. Since the tournament also acts as a direct feeder to India ‘A’ set-up, another year’s cancellation is expected to hurt India’s Test team, which is gradually approaching a transition phase.
