Ranji Trophy: Everyone's Cup

Revered domestic tournament restarts after missing a year but the onus is on administrators to ensure it stays in the calendar

CHENNAI: IT was on the 4th of November 1934 that Morapakkam Gopalan, playing for Madras, bowled the first ball of the Ranji Trophy to Mysore's N Curtis at the Madras Cricket Club ground, now called the MA Chidambaram Stadium. For 86 seasons, the Ranji Trophy remained an integral part of Indian cricket's DNA, a tournament that looked unshakable as it grew from strength-to-strength, even retaining a romance that not even the glamourous Indian Premier League (IPL) could provide.

The only first-class tournament in the world to survive World War II, the Ranji Trophy failed to get a window in the 2021/22 domestic season. India was the only Test-playing nation not to host its first-class competition citing the pandemic. The onset of the third Covid wave looked set to swallow the Ranji Trophy for a second successive season. But the state units and a common cry from host of domestic players – past and present – forced the BCCI to host a revamped tournament.

Finally, the moment is here. 38 teams have gone through quarantine, have had three practice sessions to get used to the red-ball, old whites giving way to new ones (some players reveal how staying indoors predominantly for nearly two years has led to an increase in the waistline and a couple of them even admit how their family by mistake packed white-ball kits instead of the whites). At net sessions, coaches used to making bowlers bowl for long periods are taking it easy, even asking pacers not to overbowl. Some players even picked up meditation as an option to get the concentration levels back as it has been a while since they played long format.

This was unthinkable about two years ago. Yet, this has become a reality as the Ranji Trophy gets ready for a restart. Beginning Thursday, the premier domestic event will begin across nine venues — Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Delhi, Cuttack, Kolkata, Rohtak, and Guwahati — with 38 teams divided into nine groups (eight Elite and one Plate). “I just can't put in words, what this means. I mean, the Ranji Trophy is actually starting tomorrow (Thursday) and you know, just that realisation gives you positive vibes,” Faiz Fazal, who led Vidarbha to successive Ranji Trophy titles in 2017/18 and 2018/19 season, says. The left-handed opener is a veteran in domestic circuit and even though another call-up to the national side seems far away, the 36-year-old did all that he can to keep himself fit and ready for this season. “This is one tournament all of us look forward to. Ask any one... even those who are playing for the national team... nothing comes close to Ranji Trophy. As a batter, nothing tests you like the red-ball and there is a wholesome feel to it. You will experience everything. The ups and downs... emotions, sacrifices... it tests every bit of it and at the end of a season, you are invariably wiser as a player and as a person. We can't wait for the clock to read 9.30 AM”

As Fazal says, the Ranji Trophy is much more than what happens on the field. For a tournament that usually pans across two months and beyond, it is a journey everyone travels together. Long training periods, covering the length and breadth of the country, playing on different conditions, batters losing form and battling to regain it, niggles, injuries… the list is endless. “We missed all of it last season. We were desperate to play. And without Ranji Trophy, there is no supply to the Indian team. For hundreds of players, who can't play at the highest level, this is everything. Very few domestic players have lucrative IPL contracts. For the rest, this is the bread and butter. When I put on the whites, I felt like a kid again. The energy levels was so high. We were in the middle of a practice game against Chhattisgarh in Nagpur when news dropped in that Ranji Trophy is suspended. All of us were like 'not again' and I didn't even feel like removing the whites that day,” Fazal says.

To say the one-year break created a sort of insecurity is an understatement. The BCCI's reluctance to host it this time showed how far the landscape has changed. There is already widespread belief among domestic players that performances in Ranji Trophy alone isn't enough to get into the national team and if they don't have an IPL contract, they can kiss goodbye to India aspirations. Part of this perception has been created by how the likes of Jaydev Unadkat and Jalaj Saxena continue to be overlooked for selection, and players even privately reveal how even consistent performances are ignored by the selectors. The former's case is interesting as at a time when India were looking for a left-arm pacer, Unadkat's 67 wickets in the 2019/20 season didn't even get him an A-team call-up. The same goes for Saxena too. An all-rounder in the true sense, he has showed remarkable consistency season after season, only to find his name missing from A team list every season.

This brings the question, does Ranji still retain the old relevance? Syed Saba Karim, who was part of the national selection committee and was the general manager of cricket operations till 2020, says the Ranji Trophy's relevance is massive. “But to keep it relevant and make it more progressive, it is the responsibility of the BCCI and the state units. The vision is always there with regards to how to take red-ball cricket forward. We just need to channelise all our priorities towards it.”

Speaking to the players, coaches, umpires, and match officials, it is evident that they all care for the Ranji Trophy. The players, especially, still treat it as a precious event and understand it helps them grow as cricketers. The question, though, is whether the administrators – ones with all the power – feel the same. There was no unanimity among state units to host the Ranji Trophy in 2020/21 season when the BCCI asked for their feedback. And this season, if not for the pressure inserted by few state units, the board was all but prepared to call off the Ranji Trophy citing a short window. To say there is an immediate threat to the tournament will be far-fetched, but for an event that looked untouchable, the pandemic has shown it's not immune.

Last season when it became evident that there is no Ranji Trophy, many domestic cricketers reached out to player agents in England, looking for opportunities to play league cricket. While a handful took the travel to improve their cricket, a majority did it because they needed income to keep their family afloat. The 150 pounds they earned a week was what fed their families during the second Covid wave. As there was uncertainty around this edition of Ranji Trophy, SOS calls were made to these agents again. According to one consultant, he expects Indian domestic players to make themselves available as soon as Ranji Trophy group stage ends. “With just three matches, they are bound to suffer pay cut (despite increased match fee). So some have already confirmed their availability because they expect many people to join the queue. We are expecting more players to come this season than the one before,” the consultant, who wishes to stay anonymous says.

With Test cricket facing challenges, all things point to fewer Test matches going forward. In such a case, questions will invariably be asked among member nations if it is necessary to play as many domestic red-ball matches when there are hardly any matches at the international level. A full-fledged Ranji Trophy season sees BCCI host 169 matches and if the Test calendar shrinks, it will have a ripple effect in the domestic circuit too. The advent of T20 has already resulted in some of the age-old pre-season tournaments like Buchi Babu, Moin ud Dowlah Gold Cup not finding many takers these days.

“The state T20 leagues have mushroomed because it is a good way to get revenue, which you won't get with three-day and four-day tournaments. Because of the state T20 tournaments, the schedule has become cramped,” Karim says. “It is very difficult to have so many matches in a specific window. In India, the season starts in mid-September and goes on till a week before the IPL begins. This is not enough to conduct so many matches. Now, if you have to find balance, you need to start the season a lot early. If you increase the window, then these Buchi Babu and other events will find a space in the calendar.”

As the Ranji Trophy restarts, there is no guarantee it will run continuously for another 86 seasons. The revamped format may look a one-off, but going forward, there is every chance it will become the norm. Over to the administrators to ensure it not only stays relevant but also regains its majesty.

Matches Today

Group A @ Rajkot: Kerala v. Meghalaya, Gujarat v. Madhya Pradesh
Group B @ Cuttack: Chandigarh v. Hyderabad, Bengal v. Baroda
Group C @ Chennai: Karnataka v. Railways, Jammu & Kashmir v. Puducherry
Group D @ Ahmedabad: Goa v. Odisha, Mumbai v. Saurashtra
Group E @ Thiruvanathapuram: Services v. Uttarakhand, Andhra v. Rajasthan
Group F @ Delhi: Himachal Pradesh v. Punjab, Haryana v. Tripura
Group G @ Rohtak: Assam v. Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh v. Madhya Pradesh
Group H @ Guwahati: Delhi v. Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh v. Jharkhand
Plate @ Kolkata: Bihar v. Mizoram, Nagaland v. Sikkim, Manipur v. Arunachal Pradesh.

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