Empty stands in the Champions Trophy opener between Pakistan and New Zealand in Karachi left everybody stunned, forcing former England captain Michael Vaughan to wonder if the Pakistan Cricket Board had forgotten to tell the locals about the match. The host’s early exit made the situation grim as only a few thousand watched Saturday’s England and South Africa encounter in the Pakistani port city.
Interestingly, the turnout was way more during a routine Ranji Trophy match between Delhi and Services in New Delhi last month. Over 12,000 spectators thronged the venue for a glimpse of their favourite star, Virat Kohli, playing a Ranji match after 12 years. The scene was repeated in many cities this cricketing season after BCCI mandated star players to play domestic tournaments when not on national duty.
Mumbai saw India captain Rohit Sharma, T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane, Shivam Dube, and Sarfaraz Khan, among other household names, turning up for them. All-rounder Hardik Pandya’s presence bolstered Baroda. Wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan played for Jharkhand, and Karnataka boasted of players like K L Rahul, Prasidh Krishna and Devdutt Padikkal in its ranks. Star presence certainly lifts domestic events. Nail-biting close contests and incredible runs of teams like Vidarbha, Kerala and J&K in the just-concluded Ranji tournament make domestic matches memorable.
The last-wicket 81-run stand between Kerala batters Salman Nizar and Basil Thampi against J&K in the Ranji quarterfinal, which gave them a slender one-run lead, was one for the ages. Similarly, that rebound off the ball from Nizar’s helmet, which earned Kerala a two-run first-innings lead against Gujarat in the last stages of the tournament, would remain etched in fans’ minds forever. If Kerala were God’s own team, Vidarbha meticulously carved their destiny. Domestic tournaments have had such impactful and significant moments in the past as well. The point is that the survival of red-ball cricket domestically is as important as India’s consolidation in world cricket. One hopes the momentous 2024-25 season encourages BCCI to take a keener interest and introduce policies to sustain this momentum.