Ranji Trophy might be discontinued

After the Supreme Court warned the BCCI to fall in line and unconditionally accept the Lodha Committee recommendations, the cricket body looked unlikely to continue some of its domestic tournaments, including Ranji Trophy.

Tomorrow's Supreme Court verdict, according to well-informed sources, might affect the 83rd edition of the Ranji Trophy.

Ranji Trophy, the most prestigious domestic cricket tournament, stood in danger of being discontinued.

Following the Supreme Court warning on Thursday to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to fall in line and unconditionally accept the Lodha Committee recommendations, the cricket body looked unlikely to continue the domestic tournaments.

According to sources, most of the member associations of the Board have indicated their unwillingness to stage the ongoing Ranji Trophy matches from the next round citing lack of funds.

PTI adds:

BCCI senior counsel Kapil Sibal told the Supreme Court that there are 18 state units who have already expressed their "inability to conduct domestic matches" due to lack of funds.

Tomorrow's Supreme Court verdict, according to well-informed sources, might affect the 83rd edition of the Ranji Trophy.

"There is every possibility that Ranji Trophy may be stopped from the third day itself. If the board is not there, how can the matches be organised in such a scenario. And it's not only Ranji Trophy which is a blue riband tournament. It also consists of Senior and Junior Women's championship, our U-23, U-19 and U-16 championships. You need funds to carry out these BCCI matches smoothly," a source told PTI today.

"If Lodha Committee, which is headed by former CJI (Chief Justice of India), can't force the members to accept the recommendations, do you think it is possible for the BCCI president to forcefully make them implement the resolutions. Yes, the Ranji Trophy is in a limbo," the source added.

BCCI president Anurag Thakur was not available for comment. But a source close to him said that he's unaffected by the impending verdict.

"Anurag is a politician. Often politicians have to listen to a lot of critical comments and trust me he is not at all hurt. But he has captained Punjab's U-16 and U-19 teams. He has had scores of 196, 163 in national tournament at the U-19 level. If he had been incompetent, he could not have built the stadium in Dharamsala," he said.