India stars return to Ranji, but first-class cricket needs a booster shot

Last week, BCCI released a 10-point policy document: "Participation in domestic matches is mandatory for players to remain eligible for selection in the national team and for central contracts."

The Chaudhary Bansi Lal Stadium is located bang in the middle of nowhere. It appears to have sprouted in the midst of mustard fields near Lahli in Haryana. Over the years, it has hosted numerous Ranji Trophy matches, India’s premier domestic red-ball competition — without fanfare. But on a pleasant October morning in 2013, this tranquil venue known for its green tops was jolted out of slumber.

 

News had trickled in that India’s batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar would be playing in his final domestic first-class fixture of his glittering 25-year career. More than 7,000 thronged the stadium to get a glimpse of their hero. Over the next five days, the Chaudhary Bansi Lal Stadium wore the kind of festive look that is now strictly associated with Indian Premier League (IPL) games.

 

Naturally, what would have been a snippet on the sports pages was splashed across Page 1 of major news dailies. That is a feat that has become increasing rare for the Ranji Trophy, as it wages a losing battle with the IPL for attention of fans and moneybags alike, cutting a pale figure in comparison to the razzmatazz, cheer girls, and dramatic auctions of the world’s most affluent cricket event that the IPL has become, boasting a valuation of $12 billion.

 

Blame it on the times we live in — decreasing attention spans and ‘brain rot’ seeping into our consciousness. But the IPL provides fans with the instant gratification that Ranji Trophy, spread across four days, rarely does. It is hardly surprising that increasingly more players are choosing the IPL over pretty much everything else.

 

Crucially, IPL, beyond the glitz, has become a gateway to the Indian cricket team — not just for T20Is. With a valuation of above $12 billion, this is a titan among all the major sports leagues across the globe, and it is getting bigger with every year.

 

On the other hand, the Ranji Trophy, which began in 1934, is showing its age. It needs a booster shot. And, as the Chaudhary Bansi Lal Stadium witnessed more than 11 winters ago, this can only be done if India’s international stars turn up for domestic cricket more often.

 

To put things into perspective, Virat Kohli last turned up for a Ranji game more than 12 years ago, Rohit Sharma 9 years ago. Hardik Pandya has also not turned up for a Ranji game in seven years.

 

That is about to change. 

 

BCCI diktat

 

Last week, in the aftermath of the calamitous Australia tour, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) released a 10-point policy document. Among other things, it said: “Participation in domestic matches is mandatory for players to remain eligible for selection in the national team and for central contracts.”

 

Everyone from India’s captain Rohit Sharma to all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant have made themselves available for the next round of Ranji Trophy games. Kohli did, too, and will likely play for Delhi against Railways from January 30 to February 2.

 

“Rohit’s or Virat’s presence will enhance the profile of Ranji Trophy, for which they need to be available when they are not playing international cricket. Having a Kohli in the dressing room in a Ranji game is beneficial to both teams, and in turn more people will turn up for the game,” Amrit Mathur former manager of the Indian cricket team and COO of the erstwhile Delhi Daredevils franchise in the IPL, told Business Standard.

 

Last year, the BCCI dropped batting stars Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan from the central contracts for missing the Ranji Trophy.

 

Why not Ranji?

 

Business Standard approached half a dozen cricketers to understand the lack of interest in Ranji. All of them were either evasive or gave the impression that everything in Indian cricket was hunky-dory.

 

“The fame you get in the IPL is unmatched. The kids these days do not want to put in the hard yards and go through the rigours of domestic cricket. They have their eyes set on the two months of IPL every year,” a cricket administrator said.

 

Case in point, Anuj Rawat, a promising young wicket-keeper from Delhi, skipped the training sessions with his Ranji team earlier this month to be with his IPL franchise, Gujarat Titans.

 

A member of a Ranji-winning team would typically earn around Rs 12 lakh for playing 10 first-class matches spread across four months. In contrast, the lowest base price for a player at the IPL auction is Rs 20 lakh, which gets credited to his account even if he does not feature in a single game in the season.

 

It is not surprising that players are increasingly turning to the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament and the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy in the hope that a good showing there would land them an IPL contract.

 

“The IPL provides a different ladder in terms of recognition. If you do well, you will obviously get noticed and it enhances your selection into white-ball formats, or maybe later to red-ball,” Mathur elaborated.

 

He, however, played down the concerns about Ranji losing its relevance. “A lot of cricketers have risen through the ranks based on their performances in the Ranji Trophy. Look at Sarfaraz Khan and Abhimanyu Easwaran. They were picked for the Australia tour solely on their red-ball exploits,” Mathur explained.  

 

Former India wicket-keeper and national selector Saba Karim agrees: “Typically, Ranji Trophy is the bulwark from where you select your Test squad.”

 

 The flip side is the example of Karun Nair, who, despite scoring truckloads of runs in domestic cricket, toils away without a call from the national selectors. When his name was missing from India’s Champions Trophy squad, former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh posted on X: “Is there a point playing domestic cricket when you don’t pick players based on form and performance.”

 

Mathur reckons that the way forward is to make Ranji games financially lucrative. “I know that the BCCI has enhanced the fees in domestic cricket. But they can also consider doling out more to teams that qualify for knockouts,” he added.

 

According to Karim, the hike in pay is more about sustenance. “If a player is devoting 11 months to a sport, he needs to be properly compensated, and there should be a proper pay structure in place. In this regard, I think the BCCI is doing a wonderful job,” he added.

 

A fat paycheque notwithstanding, first-class cricket makes you a better and tougher cricketer. “The longer version helps you develop mental toughness and temperament,” said Sanjiv Sharma, former coach of the Delhi team. “If an international cricketer is free, he should be playing in the Ranji Trophy. It will be a challenge for the batters because the wickets will be spicy during this time of the year, and it will give them the opportunity to iron out their deficiencies.”

 

Sharma’s old-school virtues are tried and tested but lacking in India’s Test losses in Australia as well as at home against New Zealand. The two series laid bare the batters’ weaknesses in technique and temperament. One rarely sees them play a defensive shot. Leaving deliveries outside the off-stump is frowned upon, and attack is the best and only form of defence.

 

New Zealand playbook

 

The BCCI can take a leaf out of New Zealand Cricket’s book, specifically the way it runs its domestic first-class tournament: The Plunket Shield. Unlike India, New Zealand Cricket has a tight budget, but has managed to carve out an ultra-competitive structure that is now the envy of world cricket. So much so that South African cricketers are turning down lucrative deals to play County cricket in England and, instead, heading to New Zealand.

 

Perhaps the tonic to revitalise Ranji Trophy lies in the country that has more sheep than humans.