The move by BCCI follows a request from several associations to be given more time to prepare for the premier first-class competition.
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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to push back the start of the 2021-22 Ranji Trophy from November 16 this year to January 5 next year. This decision has been taken to ensure quality time for all 38 participating teams with regard to preparation for red-ball cricket. Several state associations requested more time to prepare for the first-class competition, which will now push the end of the tournament to March 20, 2022. The Ranji Trophy was shelved in 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The first-class competition was earlier supposed to be held in a three-month window from November 16, 2021 to February 19, 2022. The BCCI has accommodated the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy during that period. This means both the senior men’s white-ball tournaments will be held before the first-class season. The T20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy will take place from October 27 to November 22, with the Hazare Trophy being staged from December 1-29.
The women’s one-day competition will now begin on October 20. This will be followed by a four-team Challenger Trophy for women. The objective is to provide more game time to India’s top players as well as the fringe players with an eye on the 2022 women’s World Cup in New Zealand.
The domestic season will end with the CK Nayudu Trophy. The event is now an Under-25 tournament instead of Under-23. The move will especially benefit those players who lost out 18 months of age-group cricket because of the pandemic. This tournament will be played from January 6 to April 2.
The modification in the schedule for the Ranji Trophy has further resulted in a tweak in the format. The 38 Ranji Trophy teams will now be slotted into six groups: five Elite (six teams each) and one Plate (eight teams). The elite group toppers will qualify directly for the quarter-finals. The second-placed teams from each of the five Elite Groups and the topper of the Plate group will play three pre-quarter-finals to decide the other qualifiers.
While the format makes the Ranji Trophy more competitive, there is a negative ramification as well with the number of games for the teams reduced. Elite teams have a minimum of eight first-class games with nine in the case of Plate. This could well result in reduced earnings.
While the Ranji Trophy has been delayed, the fact that it is being conducted by BCCI is certainly a boost to all those players who were hit hard by the lack of a cricketing income.
“It’s a misconception that those who have government jobs are paid handsomely. That said, we are still much better off than many hundreds of cricketers who don’t even have a job to fall back on,” said Chhattisgarh allrounder Vishal Kushwah in an interaction with Cricinfo.
Kushwah is now with Colony Bay Cricket Club on a five-month contract.
“The club has given me an accommodation, but all other expenses are mine. It’s not easy to save from the contract, but at least my essentials are taken care of. I have loans to pay back at home, so I thought at least this will give me something to keep going. My employers have been kind enough to grant me leave, although a portion of my time in the UK is on leave without pay,” he concluded.
