\SNilesh Deshpande
Nagpur, Oct 18
Although the BCCI president Sourav Ganguly said the much awaited domestic cricket season will start from January 1 with the Ranji Trophy, the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) has not decided anything as sporting activities are still banned in Maharashtra against the backdrop of coronavirus pandemic.
It may be mentioned here that one day back BCCI president Ganguly said they had extensive discussions on domestic cricket and have tentatively decided to start the competitions from January 1, 2021. Ganguly also said the board won''t be able to accommodate all domestic tournaments for practical purposes and also hinted that BCCI is eyeing the January-March window for Ranji Trophy.
To minimise travel, matches are likely to be organised in four different centres dividing the four groups (A, B, C and Plate).
While talking to Lokmat Times Vidarbha Cricket Association president Advocate Anand Jaiswal said, “ It is good that BCCI is planning domestic season from January 1. Since March the players are out of the touch and are training on their own. It will good for them if tournament take place”. However when asked about the preparation of the players for the Ranji season Jaiswal said so far VCA has not decided anything as the sporting activities are still banned in Maharashtra. “To start the cricketing activities, we have to follow the State government and local corporation authorities rules and regulations. Secondly BCCI will also issued their guidelines. We will start the planning once we get the clearance from these two authorities. For that we will have to wait and watch for some time more”, he said.
VCA generally start their season with Bapuna Cup which is being organised for last two decades as a preparation for Ranji Trophy. When asked whether it will possible for VCA to hold this tournament this season, Jaiswal said, “ It don''t think it will be possible for us to hold Bapuna Cup this season. Till we will look into the possibilities once we get the clearance from the government authorities”, he said.
After a break of around six months, the cricket activities are gradually coming on the track in the country with Uttarakhand becoming the first team to start training under one roof. The Andhra Pradesh Cricket Association has also announced their Twenty-20 League.. As far as Maharashtra is concerned, the limited sporting activities have started at Pune and Aurangabad Municipal Corporation has also given nod to resume it from Monday following the SOPs.