Mysore pack

You only have to study the scorecard to know how thrilling the Ranji final between Karnataka and Mumbai was. Mumbai affirmed their dominance of domestic cricket by lifting the trophy for the 39th time,but they won it by just a six-run margin. And it is worth wagering that had a big international match too been in progress on Thursday,the television audience for the Ranji match would have still been substantial. So,good cricket will always get its viewership,never mind those who doubt the future of the longer forms of the game,or its domestic ties.

But the crowds that packed into the Mysore ground,with folks even finding tree branches to comfortably take in the game,points to another positive. It has been seen before too that the smaller centres respond more enthusiastically to domestic games. There is a case for the BCCI to be more attentive to its different calendars,for international and domestic cricket,for mens and womens matches. When the first season of the Indian Premier League was in progress,a new spectatorship was seen to be cultivated,those who were looking for an entertaining evening out,with good sport and importantly with the expectation that gate money would guarantee comfort. Those spectatorship figures are not to be had for even Test,let alone domestic,cricket. But instead of lingering just on possible reform to keep the spectators interested,perhaps the board needs to consider expanding the map for these matches.

Instead of saturating the big metros with all forms of the game,matches should be where their spectators are. We need more cricket in centres like Mysore,and we need to upgrade these grounds incrementally.