Telangana Cricket Association questions BCCI over inclusion of teams from North East in Ranji Trophy

New Delhi: The Telangana Cricket Association, which has earned full membership status from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), hit out at the parent body and Committee of Administrators (CoA) on Monday, questioning the manner of inducting the northeastern states in this year’s Ranji Trophy. [caption id=“attachment_4436641” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AFP.[/caption] In another development, the Cricket Operations team led by Saba Karim, might have to arrange for alternate home venues for Tripura’s age-group teams as the association has intimated BCCI that it won’t be able to get the ground ready before the end of October due to prevailing monsoon. The Telangana CA expressed massive displeasure in the manner in which states like Mizoram, Nagaland and Manipur are being allowed to play in the country’s premier domestic tournament, stating, “there should be a few cricketing parameters as qualification criterion that would help increase the competence and considerable standard for any regional team to play first class cricket.” “Otherwise, it would be disastrous in operating first class standard cricket by calling all four categories as Ranji Trophy teams,” Telangana CA general secretary Dharam Gurava Reddy wrote in his letter to CoA and Board’s office bearers. He clearly said that all the six northeast states have bare “minimum infrastructure or knowhow” to play inter-state matches. According to Reddy, the New Area Development Committee, which has now been made defunct by the CoA or the technical committee (chaired by Sourav Ganguly), could have worked in integrating them into the mainstream by helping them create the necessary infrastructure. “Talent scouting and training facilities” are needed for two to three years in order to prepare a team “competent” enough before allowing them to play Ranji Trophy. Reddy also questioned the reason why Telangana, which, he claimed, has “better infrastructure” and greater pool of talent, is being ignored even after being given full membership rights. Scathing in his criticism, Reddy further wrote that “if balancing voting membership across the country is a primary issue, then dealing with cricket teams should have common parameters as qualifications to play various standards of national cricket as well. If not, it’s like trying to put make up over a skeleton less skin.”