BCCI planning to hold Ranji Trophy in two phases, says treasurer Arun Dhumal
BCCI treasurer Arun Dhamal has said that the board is planning to hold the Ranji Trophy 2022 in two Phases as it was postponed due to the Covid-19. Dhumal stated that the operations team is checking whether league stage can be played next month and the rest of tournament will be completed later.
The Ranji Trophy comprising 38 first-class teams was scheduled to start on January 13 this year but it was postponed indefinitely due to the third wave of Covid-19. This was the second consecutive year where the pandemic has affected the tournament. Now with BCCI planning to start the IPLÂ from March 27 it will be very difficult to hold the Ranji Trophy in one go.Â
After many requests from state units, BCCI held a meeting to decide the way forward. BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal revealed that they are planning to schedule Ranji Trophy in two phases.
"We are exploring the possibility of staging Ranji Trophy, cases were going up when it was postponed, now they seem to be coming down. The operations team is working on whether we can do the league stage next month and complete the rest of the tournament later [post IPL]," Dhumal told PTI after the meeting.
President Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah were also part of the meeting. Dhumal added that the operations team will consider all the logistics and factors to schedule the tournament.Â
"The operations team will work out the logistics and factor in the weather, venue availability as well as availability of players. We are very keen to organise the tournament and that is why we are exploring all possibilities to stage it without compromising players' safety," he said.
The pandemic also played a spoilsport last season when BCCI held only two tournaments - Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. BCCI has already paid 50% of the earlier match fees as compensation to all first-class cricketers who have suffered financial losses.Â