Vidarbha team with the Ranji Trophy title. (PTI Photo)
From a robust pay package to domestic players and coaches to advocating teams in Ranji Trophy to be split into three groups instead of four. These were some of the recommendations put forward at the BCCI conclave.
Staying in the hunt
A BCCI official is said to have announced that the last Ranji season was a big success, citing that 57 per cent of the matches played ended in an outright result. But a number of captains did not agree. They pointed out that the abolition of the relegation system has affected the motivation of smaller teams to go for the jugular.
More Pay for Coaches
At a time when the BCCI have burgeoned incomes of cricketers, domestic coaches have asked for a special pay package. One captain is learnt to have asked for contracts for domestic players with retainership clauses even while the BCCI has announced a 200 per cent hike in what domestic players will earn henceforth. The conclave is learnt to have commenced with Rahul Johri saying payments to players and coaches would be sorted out. But that didn’t stop some coaches from revealing they hadn’t been paid their daily allowance for nearly two years.
Captain’s report online
A former India player has called for the captain’s report, filed at the end of each match, to be made available on BCCI’s website. The reason being that they have observed their complaints about umpiring decisions to match referees have often fallen on deaf ears. “We would have lamented about the officiating of certain umpires and then find that they are in charge of our next match,” he said.
DRS needed
Some captains have suggested that BCCI should introduce DRS to domestic cricket now that it’s part of IPL. They also wanted the quality of videos to be improved for third umpires — be it for run out or stumpings.
Three instead of four
Most teams opined that the new policy of dividing the 28 teams into four groups of seven teams hampered their chances of advancing to the knockouts. They want to revert to the three-group format, which gave them eight league games instead of six.
Kookaburra instead of SG
SG whites, which were used on an experimental basis for this season’s Mushtaq Ali T20 and Vijay Hazare Trophy, got unfvaourable feedback from players. “Some teams have complained about the white SG balls. Since all international games are played with Kookaburra, why not use them in premier domestic competitions?” Andhra coach Sanath Kumar said.
Home-and-away works
All associations have supported the reversal to home and away format and neutral curators in Ranji Trophy. Meanwhile, DDCA went unrepresented at the BCCI Annual Captain’s Conclave for the domestic players.