The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is looking forward to hosting the Ranji Trophy this season and according to treasurer Arun Dhumal, the board is exploring all possibilities of playing the premier domestic tournament without compromising on the safety of the players.
BCCI made the announcement after its Apex Council meeting in January Ranji Trophy postponed After rescheduling the start of the tournament several times in the wake of rising Covid-19 cases in the country.
However, pressure was mounting on the board players expressed concern On the possibility of cancellation of Ranji Trophy for the second consecutive season. The premier domestic tournament was not held in the 2020-21 season, but players were compensated for the home matches that were canceled earlier this year.
Speaking to India Today after a meeting between BCCI officials to discuss the roadmap for the Ranji Trophy, Arun Dhumal said that the board is looking forward to hosting the tournament in two parts – February before the Indian Premier League- After the league stage and the knockout IPL in March, provided all logistics are put in place in the wake of the pandemic.
IPL is set to start in the last week of March and will go on till the last week of May in which 74 matches will be played by 10 teams.
Dhumal said, “We are exploring all possibilities of organizing Ranji Trophy. We want to keep that up, it seems the cases are going down and this tournament has to happen.
When asked about the tentative dates, he said, “The operations team will work on the logistics and if all goes well, we can start from mid-February. A final call will be taken soon, we are looking at all the factors.” Huh.”
‘BCCI keen to organize Ranji Trophy’
Meanwhile, Dhumal said that the BCCI will have to consider the season of the host cities, availability of players and the final schedule for the Ranji Trophy before going ahead.
“Weather, venue availability, availability of players (are important factors). (It is being discussed) can we do the league stage next month and complete the rest of the tournament later, post IPL.
“Our team is working on it. We are very keen to organize the tournament and hence we are exploring all possibilities to stage it without compromising on the safety of the players.
Dhumal also said that the fate of the rest of the postponed domestic tournaments, including the CK Nayudu Trophy and the Senior Women’s T20 League, will be decided later depending on the COVID-19 situation.
Meanwhile, BCCI secretary Jay Shah said earlier this month that the board is looking at options to host IPL 2022 in India, but is also looking at back-up options, which include UAE and South Africa. .