BCCI proposes qualification system for new entrants in the Ranji Trophy

The COA has decided to give first-class status to Bihar, Uttarakhand and all North-Eastern states.

The game is progressing in the country and Vidarbha winning the Ranji title is a great sign of it. (PTI)

According to reports, Board of Control for Cricket in India(BCCI) has mooted the idea of introducing qualification system in the next year's Ranji Trophy in its recently held Special General Meeting. The idea has been discussed owing purely to the likely addition of new entrants in next year's edition of India's premier first-class competition. 

The legal issues between the board and the Supreme Court appointed Committee of Administrators(COA) to oversee the execution of Lodha recommendations, has resulted in the first-class status to new members that includes Bihar, Uttarakhand and five north-eastern associations comprising Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Nagaland, Manipur and Meghalaya.

As per The Hindu, “All the teams presently playing Ranji Trophy shall play in the Elite Group of Ranji Trophy. The new teams, namely Bihar and the North Eastern States shall play in the Plate Group of Ranji Trophy,” 

“The bottom two teams of the Elite Group (on the basis of points and NRR in case of equal points) and the top two teams of the Plate Group shall play a qualifying super league. The top two teams from the super league shall play in the Elite Group of Ranji Trophy in the following year and the bottom two shall play in the Plate Group.”

The likelihood of the same formula being applied to the women's domestic cricket and junior levels also, can't be discounted but how the bottom two teams from the "28-Team Elite Group" will be decided, remains a very complicated issue. 

Finally, it is not clear whether any decision taken by the BCCI members in its SGM will be accepted by the COA. Led by the chief Vinod Rai, the COA has stated recently that the SGM in itself cannot be recognised since it was held without the consent of the SC appointed body. 

You can only hope that amidst all this, Ranji Trophy's prestigiousness won't be compromised. 

(Inputs from The Hindu)

 
 

By Kashish Chadha - 25 Jun, 2018

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