Cricket after corona: State units divided over domestic season
CHENNAI: State associations are divided over the selection of formats in what is possibly going to be a curtailed domestic cricket season. The BCCI's question on tournaments that can be conducted has drawn mixed response, with some of them in favour of T20s and one-dayers and some picking T20s with the four-day Ranji Trophy competition.
The BCCI has given state units four options: Only Ranji Trophy, only T20s, Ranji Trophy and T20s, T20s and one-dayers. They have been asked to choose one and reply by December 2.
The board has said that the T20 tournament can start on December 20 and it is more or less certain that in all tournaments, matches will be held in six cities, which have three venues with broadcast facilities. A lot of state units are willing to host matches.
Of the 10 associations, The New Indian Express spoke to, five want the fourth option, which is Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s and Vijay Hazare Trophy one-dayers. Five of them prefer the option of Ranji Trophy and Mushtaq Ali. The BCCI has set tentative dates for these tournaments — December 20-January 11 for T20s, January 11-March 18 for Ranji Trophy and January 11-February 7 for one-dayers. With opinion divided, it has to be seen if the board sticks to one of the four options or has all three events, which involves a potential clash of dates of the last one with IPL.
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With an IPL auction likely early next year and the T20 World Cup towards the end of it, the state associations were expected to vote for Mushtaq Ali. The point to watch was what they wanted as the second tournament.
Those in favour of Ranji Trophy said it is the country's only first-class tournament and should not be compromised. Others are of the opinion that its too long (67 days) and there may be practical difficulties in maintaining a bio-bubble for that duration as long as a Covid-19 vaccine is not available.
"There are safety concerns and being in one place for such a long time may cause unforeseen problems. I think there is no need to take that risk as long as there is no vaccine. We can have the T20s and one-dayers in the same bubble, with the same teams if need be, and see how it goes before deciding whether we can have Ranji Trophy," said Saurashtra Cricket Association president Jaydev Shah. Saurashtra were the Ranji champions last season.
The argument on the other hand is the season should not go without a first-class tournament.
"We are opting for T20s and Ranji Trophy because it's an important event. We are also in favour of Vijay Hazare after these two if the situation permits. Junior tournaments should also be conducted. Nobody should go without playing," said Vinay Mruthyunjaya, treasurer and spokesperson of Karnataka State Cricket Association.
Saurashtra, Mumbai, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Punjab want T20s and one-dayers. Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha and Jharkhand are among those for Ranji and T20s.