Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar is not a fan of India A matches being held alongside domestic competitions, especially the Ranji Trophy. The latest edition of the premier red-ball competition got underway on Sunday, with several top stars in action.
The opening day of the Ranji Trophy coincided with the third and final one-day match between India A and Australia A, leaving Rajat Patidar, Devdutt Padikkal and Ruturaj Gaikwad unavailable for their respective state teams – Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra.
Later this month, India A will travel to New Zealand for three unofficial Tests, meaning some players will again be unavailable for their state teams. Addressing the scheduling issue, Gavaskar urged the organisers to be mindful of the domestic calendar and ensure that the Ranji Trophy is not compromised.
The 1983 World Cup winner argued that the inclusion of Plate teams in the Ranji Trophy has diluted the competition, adding that not all records can be taken at face value.
“The standard in the Elite division has levelled to a great extent as can be seen by teams who were not very competitive earlier, now going on to win the Ranji Trophy. That’s most encouraging though with the India international players hardly playing in the domestic competitions, it’s difficult to know how good some of the individual players are,” wrote Gavaskar in his column for Mid-Day.
“This is noticeable when some of the leading run makers and wicket takers in the Ranji Trophy are picked to play for India. They struggle to find their feet, and some fade away quickly, while some still stay on the fringes but are not quite able to crack it,” he added.
The legendary batter further argued that a weakened Ranji Trophy season allows some players to pile up runs or take wickets in abundance, but they fail to replicate those performances when they earn senior India call-ups.
“There really is no easy solution, and the ‘A’ team matches certainly help in telling who is more likely to succeed internationally and who will remain a top Ranji performer. There’s a case for more A team matches, but not when the domestic competitions, especially the Ranji Trophy, are on. For then it won’t be a surprise with weakened competition, a batter may reach 2000 runs and a bowler 100 wickets in a Ranji season,” wrote Gavaskar.
‘Standard got lowered’
The last few editions of the Ranji Trophy have seen several records broken in the Plate Group. However, Gavaskar is not impressed. The former India batter believes the inclusion of all states and Union Territories has lowered the overall standard of the competition.
The current Ranji Trophy season features five groups: A, B, C, D and Plate. The four Elite groups comprise eight teams each, while the Plate Group has six. The top two teams in the Plate Group qualify for the Plate Final, with the winner earning promotion to the Elite Group for the following season.
Gavaskar highlighted the struggles of Plate teams after they earn promotion to the Elite Group, mentioning that records set across the two tiers should not necessarily be viewed on the same footing.
“Even in the Ranji Trophy, in the Plate Division, there are records being broken and new marks set at both batting and bowling. When the Lodha panel recommended that all states and Union Territories should be included in the Ranji Trophy, it just meant that the standard got lowered,” wrote Gavaskar.
“Most of the new state teams did not even have proper infrastructure and so hired players from other states who couldn’t find a place in their home state teams. These players were good but unable to break through into their home state teams, and so went to the state teams in the Plate Division. When most, if not all, played against teams from the Elite division, they were found wanting, and it just exposed the yawning gap in the standard between the divisions. Yet the records set are still called records because they are playing in the Ranji Trophy,” he added.