CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association is set to file an official complaint to the BCCI regarding the rescheduling of two Ranji Trophy matches. The Gujarat-Bengal and Hyderabad-Tripura games were cancelled and shifted to a different date because of pollution and smog in Delhi. The matches are scheduled to take place after the league phase of the tournament gets over.
The Gujarat-Bengal fixture will be played in Vizag, while Kolkata will host Hyderabad and Tripura, from December 15. The unusual move has forced knockout games to be pushed back. Tamil Nadu are in touching distance of the knockout stages from Group A. They have 23 points from seven matches, with one to play against Gujarat. With three teams making it to the quarters from this group, TN will go through if they beat Gujarat. But a different result might make the race closer with Gujarat, Punjab and Bengal all in contention, other than group leaders Mumbai.
The Mumbai Cricket Association has already written to the BCCI questioning the rescheduling, and TNCA will do the same. “This is not the right thing because in a league format, there is no place for rescheduling. It’s an act of god and you can’t do anything about it. It gives two teams an unfair advantage because they will know what to do when they take the field. We have seen matches abandoned without a ball being bowled because of rain or fog. In such cases, points were split. This should be treated similarly,” TNCA secretary Kasi Viswanathan told Express.
As per the BCCI statement, the decision was taken by the technical committee headed by Sourav Ganguly, who also heads Cricket Association of Bengal. This makes the episode interesting because according to Viswanathan, the technical committee doesn’t have powers to reschedule. “It’s supposed to be done by the tournament committee. We would like to bring this to the BCCI’s notice.”
Ganguly denied to this newspaper that the decision was of the technical committee. “This was brought to our attention. We felt it was a unique incident because pollution is a different issue. It was putting health at risk. When the BCCI asked CAB whether Bengal are ready to go ahead with the match, we said yes. But they decided against it considering the circumstances. The technical committee merely put forth the suggestions and the decision to postpone was taken by the board secretary. There is no undue advantage for any team because the decision was taken when nobody knew how things would stand,” Ganguly said.
venkatakrishna@newindanexpress.com