Ranji Trophy to Begin on February 13? Five Venues Shortlisted

The Ranji Trophy postponement has impacted plenty of India’s domestic cricketers. Jaydev Unadkat, Faiz Fazal, and Abhimanyu Easwaran have stated their anxieties in several interviews about the Ranji Trophy not starting. Saurashtra is the current champion but they have not played a single match since winning the trophy for the first time in their history. Now, according to a report in PTI, the Ranji Trophy 2022 might begin from February 13.

The PTI report stated that eight groups of four teams will play in four venues. At the same time, the Plate Group, which has six teams will also be played simultaneously. Cuttack, Kolkata, Guwahati, Rajkot, and Ahmedabad are the venues that have been shortlisted. It is reported that Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh, and Delhi will play matches in Ahmedabad. Bengal, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, and Baroda will play in Cuttack. The details have still not been finalized.

Ranji Trophy Finally On?

The Ranji Trophy was canceled for the first time in 2021 as the delta variant of the coronavirus decimated India. Over 400,000 cases were being reported every single day as the death toll mounted. India has hosted very limited international matches since 2020 due to the pandemic. England played four Tests, five T20Is, and three ODIs in Chennai, Ahmedabad, and Pune in 2021. The ICC World T20 2021 could not be played in India and it was shifted to the UAE.

Read – BCCI postpones Ranji Trophy date from the start date of January 5

Speaking about the new development, BCCI secretary Jay Shah said the venues and the logistics are being worked upon.

“The Board has decided to conduct the Ranji Trophy this season in two phases. In the first phase, we plan to complete all matches of the league stage. The knockouts will be held in June. My team is working closely to mitigate any kind of health risk caused by the pandemic. At the same time ensuring a highly competitive red-ball cricket contest. Ranji is our most prestigious domestic competition. It has been providing Indian Cricket with an enviable talent pool every year. It is absolutely important that we take all necessary steps to safeguard the interest of this premier event,” Jay Shah stated.

According to a report in the Indian Express, the state associations had applied a lot of pressure on the BCCI to ensure that the Ranji Trophy is played this year. Ravi Shastri, the former head coach of the Indian cricket team, stated that India cricket will be ‘spineless’ if they do not hold the Ranji Trophy in 2022.