The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had asked the state associations to give their feedback, by Wednesday, December 2, 2020, on which tournaments they wanted for the 2020-21 domestic season, which has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
BCCI secretary Jay Shah had sent an email to all the state associations asking for inputs on Sunday. The options given in the mail were: "Option 1 - Only Ranji Trophy "OR" Option 2 - Only Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 "OR" Option 3 - Both Ranji Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 "OR" Option 4 - Both Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 and Vijay Hazare Trophy."
And as per reports by ANI, the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament has emerged as the consistent pick amongst the associations. Some of the state associations have also written to the BCCI secretary and said that the season should ideally start with the T20 tournament and then a decision can be taken on the response it gets.
While some have also asked for the addition of the Ranji Trophy with the T20 event, others want the organization of the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy as the second domestic competition for the season.
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Explaining the reason behind state bodies opting for the T20 tournament, a state association official said: "The pandemic is a definite matter of concern since the king term effects of the disease are still not clear. You don't want the players to be exposed to this. The parents are also concerned and a couple of parents withdrew their children from the camp that we were conducting because of the concern.”
"The T20 format gives you the option of a smaller window in time and therefore is the preferred format in these circumstances if a tournament is indeed conducted."
"The BCCI will have to create a total of six bio-secure hubs across the country. The 38 teams will be divided into five elite groups and one plate group. The elite groups will consist of six teams each while the plate group will have eight teams. Each of BCCI hub will have a minimum of three venues which are broadcast (digital) friendly,” the secretary’s mail further said.
(ANI inputs)
