Question mark over Ranji Trophy scheduling after inclement weather delays games at multiple venues

The game between Tripura and Tamil Nadu at the Maharaja Bir Bikram Stadium was the worst hit.

Day 1 of the Ranji Trophy match between Tripura and Tamil Nadu was called off at the Maharaja Bir Bikram Stadium in Agartala. | Photo Credit: Santadeep Dey/ Sportstar

Inclement weather in the northern and north-eastern parts of India continues to adversely affect proceedings of the Ranji Trophy at a time the country’s premier red-ball domestic tournament is already struggling for relevance.

The game between Tripura and Tamil Nadu at the Maharaja Bir Bikram Stadium was the worst hit. Dense fog earlier in the day, coupled with a slight drizzle and extremely overcast conditions, forced the match referee and umpires to call off the day at 3:15 p.m.

The scenario was hardly better in other regions like Jammu, Guwahati, Mohali, and Kanpur. At JKCA’s Hostel Ground, only six balls could be bowled in the Delhi vs J&K game on Friday. In Assam, only 37 overs could be squeezed in during the match between the home side and Kerala before bad light forced the players off the field. During Punjab vs Railways at the PCA Ground, the visitor could only bat for 34 overs before the stumps were drawn early owing to bad light. Kanpur saw a delayed start in the Uttar Pradesh-Bengal match as well.

Even in the week gone by, teams had ended up losing precious game time to the weather in Delhi, Haryana, Jammu, and Tripura.

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These hold-ups beg the question whether the schedule of the Ranji Trophy could have been planned in a better manner by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, keeping the harsh winters in mind.

Devajit Saikia, joint secretary of the BCCI, tells Sportstar it is extremely difficult to predict these unfortunate scenarios. “There are around 2,200 matches that we conduct each year. It is very difficult to foresee the weather in a particular region almost a year in advance. If you look at Assam itself, only in the last two days have we felt the bite of the winter season. Before that it felt like any other month of the year.”

He went on to reason that it’s not just the domestic matches that get affected. The weather could affect the international calendar as well. “Take yesterday, for example. In India’s game against Afghanistan, you saw how cold and challenging it was. The climate is also changing. At one place or another, this is bound to happen. It isn’t possible to successfully conduct so many tournaments in such a large country without the weather coming into play. Earlier, we did not have too many formats and tournaments for men and women.”

Jayanta Dey, joint secretary of the Tripura Cricket Association, says, “It (the scheduling) is done entirely by Cricketing Operations. We have no involvement. It isn’t that they aren’t aware of the conditions, so we have never appealed. This is nothing new. Conditions like these have been prevalent for years now. It had been foggy like this last year as well. Many matches couldn’t start on time.”

Meanwhile, an official from the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association, who doesn’t wish to be named, says, “Scheduling has always been a problem. We have raised this issue so many times. But it has continued to happen. What can be done now? When you lose out on precious hours and days like this, how are the teams benefiting? Whenever we have taken this up with the concerned authorities, they have responded with ‘It’s out now; what can be done?’”

Saikia, however, says that the BCCI has always left the scope for associations to revert back with problems with the schedule, if they ever have any. “The states are notified of the schedule well in advance. They can send feedback if they have issues with the scheduling.”