The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic had forced the cancellation of the Ranji Trophy last year and the situation is looking gloomy even this year as well. Saurashtra captain Jaydev Unadkat has expressed his concerns and said that the players' skills against the red ball have started diminishing due to a lack of cricket.
He further said that it will be a "great loss" for domestic cricket in India if a second consecutive Ranji Trophy season is canceled due to the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic fueled by the Omicron variant, as the players' skills have already started diminishing due to not having any red-ball game for the last 2 years.
Unadkat told PTI: “Two years in a row would be a great loss. One year itself was a great loss. When we started our pre-season camp before the eventual postponement, it felt like a whole new game. Leaving the ball, bowling with pace and bowling long spells. All that had gone out of the picture.
It is going to be difficult for sure if it doesn't happen this year too. I hear that BCCI is keen on staging it. If the virus situation doesn't become threatening, we can have it in February with a stricter bubble and more vigilance.”
The left-arm pacer, who picked a record 67 wickets in the 2020 Ranji season, said that if the February window is not possible, then the BCCI must start the next domestic season with Ranji Trophy.
Unadkat recalled the training camp by saying, “For batters, even when I was batting I left the first ball alone it felt very different, to be honest. I had not left a ball in two years of my batting practice. Probably the same for all batters barring the openers who were doing it even in one-dayers.”
He added, “For the bowlers, bowling that full length and trying to swing the ball but people were trying different things and were bowling a few balls. It was bound to happen with such a long gap. It will hamper the skills of cricketers for sure if there is a two-year gap.”
However, the pacer feels the BCCI would take the right call but was hopeful to play at least half of a 38-team Ranji Trophy tournament this year.
He said, “It is disappointing but I feel this was bound to happen considering the COVID situation and the right decision was taken. Hopefully, things get better and we can play at least half of it or the league stage before the IPL.”
Meanwhile, the BCCI compensated all the players who were part of the 2019-2020 season, but that did not include many players on the fringes of state teams and Unadkat said that they should also get the compensation.
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He stated, “See the maximum that BCCI can do is compensate players like last year but that is only for the guys who played the year before.”
Unadkat continued, “The guys who were not part of that squad and are on the fringes it is more difficult for them. Maybe the state associations can take the initiative. Whosoever was on the brink of selection, for example, if top 20 are being compensated by the BCCI, the next 20 too have to be taken care of.”
He has been stellar in the last season, but has been ignored repeatedly for India selection; however, Unadkat said it doesn't impact his motivation level.
He signed off by saying, “Obviously losing out a year after having the best phase of my career in red-ball cricket was unfortunate. I would still be at the same level of motivation when the season starts. White ball cricket has been happening and I am improving on that front. I just hope I get a team (IPL 2022 auction) where I can actually get to show my skills in a versatile role.”
(With PTI Inputs)
