Can Ranji Trophy pass the test of time?

In recent years, excelling in the IPL has generally expedited a player’s inclusion in the Indian team, often surpassing those who diligently contribute in the domestic season.

Old warhorses: Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane have fallen out of favour with the national selectors in recent times. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

It’s that time of the year again when India’s domestic talents don the whites and gear up for three months of red-ball cricket. The conditions would vary, the challenges would be different, and the competition would be intense.

In the current era, white-ball cricket often overshadows the longer format, prompting ongoing debates about the significance of the Ranji Trophy, India’s premier tournament. The tournament faces challenges as it coincides with the international cricket calendar, leading to the absence of many star players. This trend is likely to persist this time, even with a two-week gap between India’s Test series against South Africa and the subsequent home series against England. Despite this, over a thousand cricketers from various regions will aspire to showcase their skills, recognising that consistent performances may still not guarantee a spot in Team India.

In recent years, excelling in the Indian Premier League (IPL) has generally expedited a player’s inclusion in the Indian team, often surpassing those who diligently contribute in the domestic season. A noteworthy example is Yashasvi Jaiswal, who earned a Test cap shortly after an outstanding season with the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2023. In contrast, some of his Mumbai teammates, like Sarfaraz Khan, await their opportunity despite consistent performances in domestic cricket for multiple seasons. The criteria for selection and the benchmarks appear to be in constant flux.

Although the experienced players, 39-year-old Wriddhiman Saha and 38-year-olds Manoj Tiwary and Faiz Fazal, will be aiming to lead their respective teams to victory and retire on a high, Shubham Dubey from Vidarbha will be making his First-Class debut and hoping to make it memorable. Dubey, who hails from Nagpur, was recently selected by Rajasthan Royals for a whopping Rs. 5.80 crore after his impressive performance in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where he scored 222 runs in seven matches at a strike rate of 187.28. While he looks forward to the upcoming IPL, the 29-year-old emphasises that his current priority is the Ranji Trophy.

“Red-ball cricket is the ultimate in a player’s career, and it’s an immense pride to call yourself a Ranji Trophy cricketer,” says Dubey. “As a kid, I would watch four-day cricket, and since then, I have always wanted to be a First-Class cricketer and play the Ranji Trophy someday. Only good performance in domestic cricket can take you far.”

Dubey believes that the Ranji Trophy prepares a cricketer for every situation. “No other tournament tests your skill as much as the Ranji Trophy. While you need to stay in the present for four days, it tests your competency level and how you can approach different situations,” Dubey says.

Long wait: Mumbai batter Sarfaraz Khan is yet to win an India call-up despite consistent performances in domestic cricket. | Photo Credit: R. V. MOORTHY

Missing star factor

Not long ago, top Indian cricketers would feature in the Ranji Trophy regularly. But things have changed drastically over the last few years, with several senior team regulars staying away from the tournament on the pretext of workload management.

“All these players featured in the Ranji Trophy before they became stars, but now they seem to have forgotten that baby,” former India international and erstwhile national selector Sunil Joshi tells Sportstar.

READ |Who has taken the most wickets in Ranji Trophy history?

“They should come and play the Ranji Trophy because every cricketer gets to share experiences and knowledge if an Indian player features in a domestic game. Don’t the Australian players feature in their Sheffield Shield, or don’t the England cricketers play in the county leagues? I understand our players need a break, but since they are professionals, they should also make themselves available for the Ranji Trophy,” Joshi says. “I have nothing against anyone, but these cricketers have not missed a single IPL game, so why do you need a rest only when the Ranji Trophy is being played? They cannot pick and choose when it comes to domestic cricket.”

Pay parity

Tiwary, a key figure in Bengal cricket, acknowledges that the Ranji Trophy remains unmatched in testing skills. However, he admits that unless there’s a rise in financial rewards, upcoming generations may choose to opt out of the demanding competition.

“With so many leagues cropping up, the younger players have a lot of options these days, as compared to our times. If the Ranji Trophy has to stay pertinent, the money needs to increase,” says Tiwary, who will lead Bengal in his final season. “The youngsters now know that you don’t need a Ranji Trophy to earn money. There are shorter format tournaments that can help them make equal amounts of money, so if you want the brightest of talents to hang in there, the money has to improve.”

READ |Who has scored the most runs in Ranji Trophy history?

In 2021, the BCCI revised the match-fee structure to Rs. 40,000 per match-day (1 to 20 matches), Rs. 50,000 per match-day (21 to 40 matches), and Rs. 60,000 per match-day (40+ matches) for First-Class cricket. But there’s still a huge pay disparity between First-Class cricket and an IPL contract.

Great servant: Bengal veteran Manoj Tiwary has so far played 141 first-class matches, scoring 9908 runs at an average of 48.56 with 29 centuries and 45 half-centuries. | Photo Credit: K. MURALI KUMAR

Faiz has led Vidarbha to two consecutive Ranji Trophy titles and an Irani Cup silverware. Now, at the fag end of his career, he believes that the contract system is the way forward if the tournament hopes to survive the test of time.

“Everyone is a professional, and at the end of the day, everyone wants a good life. The game requires a lot of sacrifices, and in today’s time, if a cricketer has to play First-Class cricket, he needs to sacrifice his studies and dedicate a huge amount of time to the game, and even then, there’s no guarantee that he will have a long career,” Faiz says.

“So, a central contract is the way to go. That way, the players will have security and can concentrate on their game seriously without constantly thinking about what would happen if they got dropped after one match. It is the need of the hour,” he says.

This time, international cricketers like Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Vijay Shankar, and Mayank Agarwal, who are currently not part of the national team, will be representing their respective state sides. Defending champion Saurashtra sees this as an opportunity and a challenge to increase its title count. As in previous seasons, the team relies on experienced players, led by Jaydev Unadkat, for a solid start. In recent years, teams have shifted towards a more aggressive style of play, opting for thrilling contests rather than settling for first-innings leads.

Faiz believes the tournament needs to be marketed better, and there should be more live coverage. “That could eventually open up windows for the teams. It would be perfect if companies came up and sponsored even state teams and spread the game across centres; that would be a step in the right direction,” he says.

Is anyone listening?