Sunil Gavaskar slams BCCI for ignoring Ranji Trophy

Aakhir Tak – In Shorts:

Sunil Gavaskar criticized BCCI for sidelining the Ranji Trophy.
He expressed frustration over prioritizing A tours and the T20I series against South Africa.
Gavaskar compared India’s approach to England and Australia, highlighting the neglect of domestic cricket since IPL’s rise.

Aakhir Tak – In Depth:

Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has expressed his frustration over the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) lack of focus on the Ranji Trophy. He criticized the board for prioritizing A tours and the upcoming T20I series against South Africa, which would result in several players missing out on Ranji Trophy commitments. Gavaskar raised this concern as India is set to play a four-match T20I series against South Africa in November, with several young players set to leave their Ranji duties for national team calls. Additionally, some players will also be touring Australia for India A, further diminishing the talent available for the domestic tournament.

Gavaskar, in his column for Sportstar, wrote, “Next month, there’s a needless four-match T20 series in South Africa. There will also be an ‘A’ team touring Australia next month, meaning around 50 to 60 players will not be available for their state teams in the Ranji Trophy.”

The legendary cricketer compared India’s treatment of Ranji Trophy with that of England and Australia, stating that these nations never conduct A tours or meaningless events during their domestic seasons. He noted that their domestic seasons are considered sacrosanct, while in India, the Ranji Trophy has taken a back seat ever since the Indian Premier League (IPL) gained prominence.

Despite these challenges, teams like Tripura, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Tamil Nadu have had an excellent start to their Ranji campaigns, topping groups A, B, C, and D respectively. Defending champions Mumbai lost their opening match against Baroda but made a strong comeback by winning their second game against Maharashtra.