The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), led by Sunil Gavaskar, has been requested to increase the salary of domestic cricket players, particularly first-class players. The former captain of India said, “That is a wonderful thing by the BCCI to reward those who would be playing, but I would also request the BCCI to ensure that the feeder to the Test team, which is the Ranji Trophy, is also looked after,” while applauding the organization’s recent announcement of incentives for Test cricket players.
“If the Ranji Trophy fees can be doubled or tripled, certainly there’ll be a lot more people playing the Ranji Trophy, and a lot less pullouts from the Ranji Trophy, because if the fees of playing a Ranji Trophy match are a good fee, there will be fewer people pulling out for various reasons.”
Gavaskar also agreed with Rahul Dravid that the BCCI’s declaration should be viewed as a reward system rather than an inducement for playing red-ball cricket. He continued by saying that there wouldn’t be as many withdrawals from Ranji as there have been recently, especially for players like Ishan Kishan, if they were fairly compensated.
“I believe Rahul Dravid stated that he would like to refer to it as a reward when it was announced at Dharamsala. On the fringes of a CHAMPS Foundation event celebrating its 25th anniversary, Gavaskar stated, “They will all want to play with a slab system – every 10 first-class matches you get that much more so I would request the BCCI to look at that aspect as well.”
The former cricket player who is now a journalist and commentator backed the demand made by players from various teams for longer intervals between Ranji games. “During the three-day interval, there is most likely a day dedicated to travel. There isn’t time to see the physiotherapist when traveling to perhaps receive his assistance in getting well from a niggle. So, in order to give the player enough time, there should probably be a small gap.”
He proposed that instead of January, as it has been doing lately, the Ranji season should begin in October. “I think the Ranji Trophy should run from October until mid-December, after which the white-ball competitions should start. Everyone will be available to play in this manner, with the exception of those representing India. There won’t be any valid justification for leaving. People in the IPL can start getting enough practise from January onwards, as one-day matches commence.
Gavaskar has stated that he thinks Test cricket will endure, but it won’t be a five-match format. “There will undoubtedly be test cricket. Only two or three nations may play five Tests in a series of matches; every nation may not play five. Tests, T20Is, and ODIs will all be included on each tour going forward.”
