A bunch of players are missing the second round of Ranji games due to commitments elsewhere.
Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has expressed his disappointment seeing the way India’s premier domestic cricket tournament, the Ranji Trophy, is being ‘greatly devalued’.
Gavaskar pointed out that the talented crop of players is being pulled out of the state teams to take part in other tournaments.
Notably, the Ranji Trophy got underway on October 10. While the opening round of matches saw leading players’ participation in the competition, a bunch of players are currently missing the second round of action due to commitments elsewhere.
This includes the India A side, led by Tilak Varma, featuring in the ACC Men’s T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2024 in Oman.
Next month, the India A team will travel to Australia for a couple of red-ball games in Mackay and Melbourne. It was at this time the Indian T20I side will be touring South Africa for a four-match T20I series.
In contrast, Australia’s star players like Steve Smith, Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc are currently fine-tuning their skills in the domestic red-ball competition - Sheffield Shield.
“Even as India plays the current series against New Zealand, some of our players are competing in the Emerging Players Asia Cup. The Ranji Trophy season has begun, and if players are being taken away to play in events like this, then the national tournament is being greatly devalued,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar.
“Next month, there’s a needless four-match T20 series in South Africa before the tour to Australia. There will also be an ‘A’ team touring Australia next month, so effectively about 50 to 60 players will not be available for their State teams in the premier national tournament, the Ranji Trophy,” he added.
According to Gavaskar, the respect shown for the domestic events has gone down drastically ever since the inception of the Indian Premier League.
He remarked, “No other major country treats its national tournament as cavalierly as India does. Have you ever seen England or Australia hold ‘A’ tours or participate in meaningless events during their domestic seasons?
“Their domestic seasons are sacrosanct, but ever since the IPL came along, the Ranji Trophy has sadly receded into the background. Hopefully, this will change from the next season — or is that hoping for too much?” Gavaskar concluded.
(With IANS Inputs)