CHENNAI: In welcome news for India’s domestic cricketers, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday announced an almost full-fledged calendar for the 2021-22 domestic season. The calendar includes the Ranji Trophy — cancelled last season owing to the Covid-19 pandemic — the country's premier first-class competition. It will be held in a three-month window from November 16, 2021, to February 19, 2022.
The Duleep Trophy, Irani Cup and Deodhar Trophy – which were not held last season – do not find a space in the calendar this season too. The domestic season will commence with the women in action from September onwards. The Senior Women's One-Day League will be the first tournament and will be held from September 21 to October 22. It will be an important one-day season for the women as the Women's ODI World Cup is scheduled to be held in New Zealand in March-April next year.
The men’s season will kickstart with the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 meet, scheduled to be held from October 20 to November 12. The domestic T20 meet will be held just after the conclusion of the IPL in the UAE, which is likely to finish in the second week of October. While the Ranji season normally takes around four months to complete, the window available this season is slightly lesser.
“We don’t plan to reduce the number of Ranji matches. The format will remain as it has been in recent years,” a senior BCCI official told this daily on Saturday. “Regarding the Duleep Trophy, Deodhar Trophy and the Irani Cup, they have not been held for sometime now. There isn’t enough time to slot all the tournaments,” the official added.
The Vijay Hazare Trophy – the 50-over competition – will start shortly after the Ranji final and will be held from February 23, 2022, to March 26, 2022.
With the next U-19 World Cup scheduled to be held in West Indies in 2022, India’s top U-19 cricketers will also have enough opportunities to stake a claim in the national set-up with the return of the Vinoo Mankad Trophy – which will consist of 152 matches – followed by the U-19 One-Day Challenger tournament. None of the age-group tournaments were held last season due to the Covid crisis.
Meanwhile, the BCCI official informed that the committee formed to look into the issue of compensation for domestic cricketers is still working on finding a suitable solution. Many domestic players have been struggling financially and are hoping that they get adequate compensation for the cancellation of the 2020-21 Ranji season.
TNCA to meet this month to decide on next coach
With coach D Vasu’s contract expiring in June, the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) is likely to meet this month to decide on the next coach. Vasu took over as coach at the beginning of the 2019-20 season and helped Tamil Nadu win the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last season.
TNPL-5 matches to be held in Chennai
The entire fifth edition of the Tamil Nadu Premier League will be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The tournament will be held from July 19 to August 15.