Bihar to be included in 2018-19 Ranji Trophy season
In accordance with the Supreme Court’s decision, Bihar is all set to be included in the upcoming season of the coveted Ranji Trophy. Along with Bihar, the Technical Committee has recommended an option of including the North-Eastern states, where cricket has not been able to make its presence felt.
After being ousted from BCCI’s full-time membership status in 2001 citing poor infrastructure, this decision would come as a huge relief to the state. There have been several key changes in the working of BCCI since the implementation of the Lodha Committee reforms and this was one of those recommended changes. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court had directed the BCCI to include Bihar in the most important domestic tournament.
"As an interim measure, the Bihar Cricket Association (BCA) shall be eligible to participate in Ranji Trophy and similar such competitions and the BCA, which has been elected by virtue of the order of this court, shall be in-charge of the same. This order has been passed keeping in view the cause of cricket," the bench had said.
Allegedly, Saba Karim, General Manager of the Cricket Operations, played a vital role in this decision. Karim had started his domestic career playing for the state of Bihar before moving on to play for West Bengal. With the North-Eastern states going to the court and seeking an intervention, there were uncertainties regarding the decision. However, the option of inclusion of the North- Eastern states made the decision possible and the committee went ahead with the recommendation.
"The Technical Committee was unanimous in its meeting today that a team from Bihar shall play the Ranji Trophy and other such tournaments in accordance with the order of the Hon'ble Supreme Court. The Committee, in fact, has also recommended an option of including the North-Eastern states in the Ranji Trophy keeping in view a course to be followed for development of cricket in the region," Anirudh Chaudhry, BCCI's treasurer, told Cricket Next.
"The matter has been referred to the General Body with recommendations being made accordingly in terms with the procedures of the BCCI. The Committee was mindful of the fact that the total implementation of this decision came under the purview of more than just the Technical Committee and was therefore cautious in the recommendations that were made in order to not transgress beyond the Committee's jurisdiction," he further added.
There were several other recommendations regarding the structure of the domestic cricket. The recommendations included an introduction of pre-quarterfinals in the Ranji Trophy, after the group stage, which would be played in four groups, following the home and away format.
The T20 domestic tournament- Syed Mushtaq Ali- will now be played in between the league and knockout matches of the Ranji Trophy. With Irani Trophy being excluded, this is how the order of upcoming domestic season looks like- Duleep Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy, Ranji Trophy League phase, Mushtaq Ali T20, Ranji Trophy knockouts and Deodhar Trophy.
The recommendations also included that semi-finals should be played after the super league stage of the Syed Mushtaq Ali, while Deodhar and Duleep trophy to be played amongst four teams. These four teams will be picked from four different groups of Ranji Trophy. Apart from this, the pink Kookaburra balls will be used in this season.
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