“We need to hear the players” - Rahul Dravid backs domestic players scrutiny over less gap between Ranji matches

India’s head coach Rahul Dravid backed Shardu; Thakur’s statements and said that it is important to listen to the advice of the players and have a fresh look at the relevance of having some of the domestic competitions.

India’s head coach Rahul Dravid during a practice session ahead of the fifth Test cricket match between India and England in Dharamsala | Photo Credit: PTI

The scheduling of the Ranji Trophy has been under scrutiny after Shardul Thakur called for longer breaks between the games to facilitate better recovery and preparation for players.

India’s head coach Rahul Dravid backed the India international’s statements and said that it is important to listen to the advice of the players and have a fresh look at the relevance of having some of the competitions.

“I saw some of the comments made by Shardul, and in fact some of the boys who’ve come into the team as well, also comment about how tough the domestic schedule is, especially in a country like India with the amount of travel involved. So yeah, we need to hear the players,” Dravid said on Saturday, shortly after his team defeated England 4-1 in a five-match Test series.

“That’s a very important thing in a lot of these things. You need to hear your players, because they are the ones going through the grind and putting their bodies on the line, and if there are enough voices saying that, then yeah, I think there’s some need to look at it, and see how we can manage our schedules,” Dravid said.

Keeping India’s lengthy domestic season in mind, there have been debates in the past about the relevance of tournaments such as the Duleep Trophy and Deodhar Trophy - the zonal first-class and one-day competitions. Dravid, too, echoed similar sentiments, albeit without naming the tournaments. “The Ranji Trophy is a long season, and if you add a Duleep and a Deodhar on top of that – last year, if I’m not mistaken, the Duleep started in June, it was just a month after the IPL, and your problem in this situation is your best players, the guys who are pushing for selection for India, are the ones that end up playing the most cricket,” Dravid said.

“Because they keep getting selected at the next level, more and more, and their teams are the ones probably who are playing the semifinals and the finals, or that kind of situation. They are the ones who end up playing a lot of cricket, and you also want them to be playing for India, and India A tours, and so it can get quite tough on a lot of those boys, and maybe we need to hear them out,” the coach said.

Having worked at the National Cricket Academy and with India A teams in the past, Dravid understands the importance of spacing out tournaments, and hence, he batted for a fresh approach. “Maybe we need to re-look and see whether some of the tournaments that we are conducting are necessary in this day and age or if they are not necessary,” he said.

“There needs to be an all-round review [involving] coaches and players, especially the guys who are part of the domestic circuit…”

The BCCI would earlier have conclaves with the domestic captains and coaches, but since COVID-19, that hasn’t happened formally, even though there have been informal gatherings to exchange ideas.