Cricket’s glitziest tournament, the Indian Premier League, started its 17th season with the defending champions, the Chennai Super Kings, winning their first match. It was not as halfway exciting as the first-ever IPL match in 2008 when Brendon McCullum scored an explosive 158, and the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won with plenty to spare.
It was just the kind of takeoff that a new tournament needed. Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) were on the losing side then, and the 17th season also began with a loss for them. They will surely take heart from the fact that their women’s team won the Women’s Premier League (WPL) in only their second season.
Though it’s early days yet, the new rule allowing bowlers to bowl two bouncers in an over has made it just that little bit difficult for the batters. In previous seasons, with the ‘one bouncer in an over’ rule, if a bowler bowled a bouncer in the first half of the over, the batsman could safely put his front foot forward for the remainder of the over, knowing that nothing would come around his shoulders.
So, the new rule has certainly tilted the scales a little bit towards the bowler in a format that is incredibly hard for their tribe. If somehow the ground staff can increase the size of the boundaries, say even by a couple of metres, that could mean some of the mishits that go for a six could be caught inside the boundary.
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The weather, at least for now, is still not very hot, but as the days go on and we come to mid-April and May, then the heat can be telling on the batsmen as well.
Ever since the Ranji Trophy finished, it became public knowledge as to what the players of both teams that played the finals got for playing all the Ranji Trophy matches. There has been a lot of talk about the need to increase the remuneration for playing in the country’s national championship. With corporate jobs drying up for the players, the Ranji Trophy is the only source of income for those who do not play in the IPL.
The Ranji Trophy is also the feeder tournament for those aspiring to play Test cricket for the country. Since those cricket players who make themselves available to play most of the Test matches are now going to be rewarded with double or triple their fees, it would be terrific if the same yardstick was used for players who played the Ranji Trophy.
One would have expected the current superstars of Indian cricket to raise their voices and ask for an increase in Ranji Trophy remuneration for their Ranji teammates. Sadly, since the IPL began, apart from Harbhajan Singh, who played the Ranji Trophy after he finished playing international cricket, nobody has spoken about the trials and tribulations of the Ranji player.
Whenever the superstars want to get their form back, they are quick to go and play the Ranji Trophy, but speaking out for their Ranji brothers seems to be a complete ‘No, No’.
There was also some talk during the Ranji season about the need to have a gap between matches to allow for some recovery of minor injuries, and that is something that needs to be given some thought. Many years ago, when Shri Jagmohan Dalmiya was the president of the BCCI, he started a Captains and Coaches Conclave at the end of the season where the captains and coaches of all the state teams gathered in one city and talked about what they felt needed to be done. This was most refreshing because, even though it wasn’t possible to implement all the suggestions, the fact that the captains and coaches felt that they were being given a hearing by the BCCI made them feel that much more attached to Indian cricket.
Perhaps this Conclave could be revived on the eve of the BCCI Apex Council meeting so that they would be aware of how those who play the non-glamourous but still national championship, the Ranji Trophy, feel about Indian cricket.
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Let me add that, having attended all the previous conclaves as chairman of the BCCI Technical Committee, not once was there any discussion about remuneration. All the talk at the conclaves was simply about Ranji cricket and what the captains and coaches felt could be done to enhance the quality and standard even further. It might not be possible to do the conclave this time, but it certainly is worth giving thought to from next season onward.
Since those cricket players who make themselves available to play most of the Test matches are now going to be rewarded with double or triple their fees, it would be terrific if the same yardstick was used for players who played the Ranji Trophy.
