New Delhi, Oct 21 Legendary India batter Sunil Gavaskar said the prestigious Ranji Trophy is being "greatly devalued" due to players being pulled out of state teams to participate in other tournaments.
This season’s Ranji Trophy began earlier this month but from the second round onwards, it has seen a lot of players miss out on playing in the tournament. Apart from the ongoing Tests against New Zealand, an India ‘A’ side under Tilak Varma is currently playing in the ACC Emerging Men’s T20 Asia Cup in Oman.
It is followed by a two-match red-ball series against Australia ‘A’ in Mackay and Melbourne, and parallelly, the Suryakumar Yadav-led T20I team will travel to South Africa for a four-match series. In contrast, many regular Australia players like Steve Smith, Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc are plying their skills in the domestic red-ball Sheffield Shield competition.
"Even as India plays the current series against New Zealand, some of our players are competing in the Emerging Players Asia Cup. The Ranji Trophy season has begun, and if players are being taken away to play in events like this, then the national tournament is being greatly devalued.
"Next month, there’s a needless four-match T20 series in South Africa before the tour to Australia. There will also be an ‘A’ team touring Australia next month, so effectively about 50 to 60 players will not be available for their State teams in the premier national tournament, the Ranji Trophy,” wrote Gavaskar in his column for Sportstar on Monday.
He also pointed out that ever since the Indian Premier League (IPL) has come, the Ranji Trophy hasn’t been treated with respect. "No other major country treats its national tournament as cavalierly as India does. Have you ever seen England or Australia hold ‘A’ tours or participate in meaningless events during their domestic seasons?
"Their domestic seasons are sacrosanct, but ever since the IPL came along, the Ranji Trophy has sadly receded into the background. Hopefully, this will change from the next season — or is that hoping for too much?" concluded Gavaskar.
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