The BCCI on Saturday (January 30) took a tough call on not having Ranji Trophy in the much-delayed ongoing season, deciding, instead, to conduct the Vijay Hazare Trophy along with the U-19 one-day event and women's cricket.
Amid the recent development, former India opener and domestic cricket giant, Wasim Jaffer, has urged the board to take care of the cricketers financially.
See Also: Irfan Pathan endorses BCCI’s decision to not organize Ranji Trophy this season
“With 38 teams, I understand it can be a bit difficult. From outside, all I can say is that taking into consideration that so many players feature in the tournament and there is a risk factor, it would be tough. But as a player or a coach, I would’ve still wanted the Ranji Trophy to happen,” Jaffer told Sportstar in an exclusive chat.
“But if you speak from a financial point of view, a player gets paid more if he plays the Ranji Trophy. Somebody who doesn’t have a job and is dependent on cricket, then it is going to be hard for him in these difficult times,” he added.
During the Annual General Meeting in Ahmedabad last month, the BCCI had indicated that it would come up with a mechanism to take care of the cricketers financially in case the Ranji Trophy or the Vijay Hazare Trophy gets cancelled.
“I hope that it happens. That’s the biggest thing. Even nowadays, a lot of cricketers don’t get jobs. They are young cricketers and their family is dependent on them. In Vijay Hazare Trophy, you get paid only Rs 35,000 or 40,000 for a game, that’s not a lot of money to survive for the whole season. The next season starts in October and not most of them play the IPL, so it’s hard for them. So, if the BCCI can compensate them, then nothing like it,” Jaffer, who retired from the game last year and is now the head coach of Uttarakhand, said.
When asked how much impact the absence of Ranji Trophy will make in the ecosystem of Indian cricket, Jaffer replied: “Such a thing hasn’t happened in a long, long while. Not just the Ranji Trophy, even international sporting events - like the Euro, Wimbledon - had to be postponed. It’s a big thing for any team. I am coaching Uttarakhand and we were looking to qualify for the Elite group and that can only happen if we play Ranji Trophy. No matter how well we do in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy or Vijay Hazare, we are never going to be promoted to the Elite group. So that setback is always going to be there, because you have to start from the scratch next year.”
“If we had done well in Group D and if we could have made it to the playoffs, we could have gone into Group C. The Elite teams won’t get to play seven to eight games because there won’t be any Ranji Trophy champions and of course no Irani Cup games. Those things will be missed, but then, you have to consider the player safety and the tight schedule (the IPL, followed by India’s tour of England),” he further remarked.
