Pitch preparation this season will be an exercise under intense scrutiny of the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
A new practice, similar to one followed for international fixtures, will come into force as the administration looks to prop up the character of domestic cricket.
“Curators appointed by the Board will monitor the pitch preparations,” a senior BCCI official informed The Hindu.
“The decision was taken by the BCCI’s Ground and Pitches Committee. It will deploy curators who would work with the host ground staff to oversee pitch making. It was not a practice prevalent for Ranji matches in the past. They will give directions to the local curator so that the First-Class matches are played on fair pitches — helping the seamer in the beginning and spinners later,” the official said.
Following complaints of poor umpiring for the last couple of seasons, the BCCI has decided to revive the process of captains’ report.
“The idea had been discontinued because the captains were not taking interest in providing the data. Now they have been told to fill up the form meticulously and rate the umpire. This will be one of the parameters to rate the umpires. The other two are umpires’ review committee and the match referees,” the official stated.
Attention is being paid to ensure the quality of balls. The last few seasons the BCCI had not been happy with the standard of balls being supplied. Recently, the SG had introduced a brand of balls produced from imported leather.
“It was tried in the latter stage of the last season. It was an improved product and we hope to overcome this problem from this season,” the official added.
In a move that would receive appreciation from the coaches and the captains, the Ranji matches have been spaced out to accommodate a four-day gap between the fixtures.
“It has been done with the sole aim to manage the workload of the bowlers. It will give them an extra day to attend to their niggles apart from the much-needed rest. Four home matches is also a step in that direction,” he said.
The Duleep Trophy, which needed a 24-day phase, has been pushed to the next year when it would herald the season. “Last year Duleep Trophy was much relevant because it was the start of the season when we hosted 13 Tests. It would have been tough for us to schedule it in August this time. It has only been staggered to start early next year,” the official explained.
The success at the ICC T20 World Cup has highlighted the need to promote women’s cricket and the BCCI has lost little time to take a few steps.
“We are starting a T20 tournament for under-19 women and also introducing an under-16 one-day inter-State competition which would be restricted to within the zone to start with,” the official said.
A one-day tournament for men under-23 is also an addition to the calendar.
The BCCI was hopeful the domestic cricket would not be played in front of empty stands. “Home matches should bring more fans. We will also invite schools and colleges to come and watch for free. Watching home teams would evince interest,” the official said.