Confusion reigns supreme in BCCI with less than a month to go for start of domestic cricket season

Indian cricket’s domestic season is scheduled to kick off with Duleep Trophy on 13 August, but thanks to confusion in Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), there has not been a formal announcement of the same yet. According to a report in CricketNext.com, the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) has written to BCCI CEO Rahul Johri to send out a release regarding the same, but with BCCI GM (Cricket Operations) Saba Karim out of the country, the board is yet to go public with the schedule. [caption id=“attachment_4436641” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AFP.[/caption] Teams from Bihar and North East are set to make their debut in Ranji Trophy this season, but confusion prevails over scheduling their matches. “The basic problem is that these are decisions that even as per the Lodha reforms are to be taken by the board members. But they have been totally ignored in these decisions and the final decision is being attempted to be taken by a committee with no skin in the game. These issues need to be looked into at the earliest,” an official told CricketNext. Another issue troubling the BCCI is the CoA’s wish to include Uttarakhand and Puducherry without accounting for the technical and logistical problems. “There is no member who is a representative in the case of Uttarakhand. A committee has been formed by the CoA which, it is reported, includes one person from one of the three associations vying for affiliation. In the case of Puducherry, CoA has decided on someone to represent the association. But the general body is yet to take a call which can be taken only in an AGM. The introduction of nine teams in this season’s Ranji Trophy means the total number of matches is likely to go up by 30-40, but the board officials are concerned that the need for more manpower hasn’t been taken into acount by the CoA. “While the shortage of grounds is something that is one of the biggest concerns, what about the backend staff required to get games organised? When new teams come in, it won’t be just the senior teams. You will have the age group teams as well. This apart, are there enough match officials? Who is looking into these things? Where is the clarity? The season starts with the Duleep Trophy in less than 30 days,” he explained.