Ranji Trophy back home after U-turn

He also explained that 28 teams would be divided into four groups. “Because of the addition of Chhattisgarh, total became 28, leading to a skewed setup of 9+9+10. The 28 teams will be split into four different pools, and top two teams (from each group) will qualify for the quarterfinals.

Ganguly spoke about the feedback his Committee received from the Ranji Trophy captains and coaches via the captains’ conclave. “We have made this home and away because of logistical reasons; even the players and captains wanted this. The matches will be less now. The players and captains want that way and had voiced their concerns at the meeting (conclave). Associations also want to see their teams play at the home venue.”

Some captains had indeed been critical of the neutral venue experiment, with Tamil Nadu skipper Abhinav Mukund leading the charge. “First of all, every association has to provide balls. Before every game, there is a matter of umpires and match referees coming to the captain and coach and saying, we need four balls, we need five balls. There’s an issue with the balls every single game. I cannot have such problem in a knockout game. In a Ranji Trophy semifinal, if you can come and tell me (before the match), I don’t have balls in the ball box, I don’t understand that. That is point one,” he had said, adding: “Secondly, none actually gives a damn about the wickets that are being prepared.”

According to an insider, Rajeev Shukla, who joined the meeting via Skype, also described the neutral venue switch a “disaster”. The committee collectively, however, didn’t ascribe to that, as it discussed the positives as well. “There was a message for the selectors that runs in challenging conditions should be good enough to merit an attention,” a BCCI official, present at the meeting, said. But the return of the old order was unanimously accepted. “Also, the expenses incurred (last season) on behalf of the BCCI are not being reimbursed under the garb of the Supreme Court order,” the official said.

The Ranji Trophy starts on October 6 this term and the BCCI will decide if home venues will have neutral curators. Ganguly said the relegation and groups could be decided on points “based on the last three seasons”.

The Duleep Trophy, meanwhile, remains a pink ball, day/night affair. “We will continue with pink ball cricket in the Duleep Trophy, because any new practice has to be given a proper chance. Our effort will be to make most of them as day and night matches,” Amitabh Choudhary said.