Does the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 serve any purpose in the age of IPL?
OCA
Last year, the Sourav Ganguly-led BCCI technical committee had recommended that all Ranji Trophy matches in 2016-17 would be played at neutral venues to make domestic cricket more competitive.
Amidst the frenzy of debates regarding the new system in the Ranji Trophy, one more important recommendation skipped the eye of cricket connoisseurs -Â the BCCI's decision to scrap the inter-state system of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and replace it with a new inter-zonal league.
Since its inception in 2006-07, the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy, which will commence at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai from tomorrow, has always remained under the gigantic shadows of its much-hyped cousin Indian Premier League (IPL). It was only last year that the tournament garnered some significance due to the application of the new league format along with the use of the Kookaburra Turf ball instead of the Kookaburra regulation ball. But most importantly, it was slotted much before the IPL auction making the talent scouts and coaches of various franchises keenly follow the tournament. But it was just a one-off season as the tournament has been relegated to insignificance once more this year.
Until the 2014-15 season, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy was held at the end of the domestic calendar and often, the tournament's super league stage had also clashed with the IPL. As it was played after the auction, it did not carry much significance for the franchises as well, who had already assembled their squads before that. In 2014, although the BCCI made it mandatory for all the players to play for their respective state teams in the zonal leagues of the tournament, allowed them to skip the super league to join their IPL franchises instead. That affected the quality of matches in the super league and the teams' strategies.
Come to think of the new format this year. The tournament starts tomorrow and will be fought between five Zones- East Zone, West Zone, North Zone, South Zone, and Central Zone. If that was to be done, so what was the reason behind
After the inter-state matches in the zonal level, the tournament has now progressed to the final stage, where the Zones will fight against each other for the Trophy. Given the Zonal team will be a mix of the best players from across the member states, the good ones will get a shot at proving themselves further even if they end up on the losing side. However, for that, the IPL auctions need to happen after the tournament every year.
Although the IPL juggernaut has transformed Indian domestic cricket big-time, at the same time, it has also been working outside the domestic structure. As the IPL is acting like a breeding ground for the selection to the national team, domestic performances slip under the carpet. Jalaj Saxena, who was given the best all-rounder award by the BCCI for consecutive two years, couldn’t gain the confidence of any IPL team, while the sudden success of Pawan Negi and Hardik Pandya in the IPL has resulted in the national call-ups.
Former Indian wicket-keeper V.B Chandrasekhar once said, “There is a shortcut available for the younger lot today and the IPL throws that kind of opportunity for them. They know pretty well that to catch the eye of the selectors and the media, they need to be playing a well-organized tournament that gets maximum eyeballs over the world, and the IPL serves as a shortcut for them.”
The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy is a good stage for all those IPL aspirants as it gives every domestic player in the country a chance to stake a claim in the big league. It also serves as a platform for those players who fail in the IPL to polish their skills further for the next season.
So, if the tournament is being
