Some players believe that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is pushing the season too quickly, against their own best interests in order to prevent injuries, even as another season of first class cricket draws to a close.
With just three games remaining in this Ranji season—two of which are already completed and one yet to be played—the players believe they could have performed better if there had been a longer break between the matches. This year, from January 5 to March 14, the BCCI completed 137 first-class matches in 70 days.
During the Mumbai semifinal match, Tamil Nadu captain R Sai Kishore stated, “A few players feel the same thing.” He believed that fast bowlers would be more impacted than others by the smaller breaks.
Fast bowlers have more weariness because they travel in a single day. Since he is a spinner, I don’t workout as much as I would want due to the three-day delay. Since I bowl straight through matches, my body is not overworked. I don’t push myself too hard during pre-game training. That is how I am handling myself, but the quick bowlers should have it more difficult.”
Mumbai’s Shardul Thakur, who amassed an impressive century in the semifinal, expressed his opinion more bluntly and begged the BCCI to extend the intervals between Ranji matches.
“I believe the challenge lies in the fact that we have three days between our first-class games. The Ranji Trophy season has never seen anything like it. I played Ranji Trophy some 7-8 years ago, if memory serves me correctly. There were three-day breaks for the first three games, four-day breaks thereafter, and a five-day break before the knockout stages. The Mumbai and India all-round player continued, “And this year we have seen that all the games have been played on a three days gap.”
He cautioned that if this hectic schedule keeps up, a lot of athletes may sustain injuries in the upcoming years. “Playing ten games in a row with only a three-day break is quite difficult for domestic players (should a side advance to the final). I believe they should reevaluate it and give lengthier pauses the following year. In addition, one team would receive a break in the round robin format when there were nine teams in the group.
scheduling issues prior to BCCI
The BCCI appears to be driven by its own compulsions. Earlier, the season would begin in September or October. The BCCI has 1846 matches scheduled for this season, including games for women and age groups. The BCCI was forced to begin the season in June due to the sheer quantity of games.
There are seven tournaments for seniors: the Ranji Trophy Plate (49 days), the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (22 days), the Vijay Hazare Trophy (23 days), the Deodhar Trophy (11 days), the Duleep Trophy (19 days), and the Irani Cup (five days).
38 teams compete in the Ranji Trophy, which started on January 5 and is divided into two divisions: Elite and Plate. The teams were split up into five groups: the Plate Group had six teams, while the four Elite Groups had eight teams apiece. Each of the Elite Group teams participated in seven league-stage games. Two teams advanced to the quarterfinals, which consisted of four matches, semifinals, which consisted of two matches, and final. Each of the six Plate Group teams participated in five league-stage games, with the top four advancing to the semi-finals and final.
If the BCCI were to take the demands of the players seriously, they would have a difficult time fitting in all the games without reducing the number of tournaments.
