Thumbs-up for Ranji Trophy changes

The Ranji Trophy format has undergone changes and Praveen Amre, Nilesh Kulkarni, Sulakshan Kulkarni and Amol Muzumdar gave a thumbs-up to the change. Former Test player Yajurvindra Singh had reservations.

At a discussion organised by the Sports Journalists Association of Mumbai on Tuesday, Muzumdar said he himself has seen three structural changes in Ranji format since his debut two decades ago. “You play your best cricket from the start as you bump into former champions from the first round. Earlier, with the Ranji season starting in October and going on till April, you could bounce back to form. Now, with the Ranji season ending in just two-and-a-half months, if you are out of form or fitness, you are gone. The points system is good as it encourages the teams to go for an outright win.”

On the other hand, Singh said that the new format gave weaker teams a chance to win. “Why should a team that has not done well in the previous years and belonged in the Plate league be allowed a chance to win,” he countered. “Only the Elite teams should have the chance to win Ranji Trophy.” Singh also spoke from personal experience as a west zone selector that justice was not done while picking up a zonal team.

“In earlier days, Ranji Trophy was played within the zones. It gave selectors good opportunity to watch the matches and pick up the zonal sides for Duleep Trophy. Now, selectors hardly watch matches involving their teams.”

Welcoming the new format, Nilesh said that the points system would have been better if the teams were docked one point for losing by 10 wickets or by an innings. “If there is a bonus point for winning by an innings or by 10 wickets, the team losing in that fashion should be given a minus point.”

Amre was pleased with the knock-outs being played over five days “as it gives the teams to come back from precarious positions”. He was said that in the new format, performances of all the groups will be noticed and everyone had an equal chance of representing India.