- The moment Indians come across anything and everything related to cricket, expect all of us to become no less than connoisseurs, experts, tacticians, and statisticians, all rolled into one. Such is the fervent following, maddening passion, deep penetration, and ever-expanding reach of cricket in India that the sport is rightly anointed as no less than a religion here. As someone closely following the evolution of cricket in India, one can safely proclaim that the change started right from the time Kapil Dev-led Team won the 1983 Prudential World Cup – a 60-over affair back then – which completely altered/catapulted the game to unimaginable heights. There has been no looking back ever since that epochal event altered the equation for good.
PC: Hindustan Times
- In present times, Indian cricket rules the roost with the game’s 70% revenue being generated from here. For a reason, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is considered one of the most powerful and richest sporting bodies in the world. Little wonder that every other kid in India wishes to play cricket, hoping to carve out a niche in whatever form available. Mind you, while the emphasis has gradually shifted from red-ball cricket to white-ball cricket of late with the advent of the T20 format, the Indian domestic red-ball tournament, the Ranji Trophy, continues to be the nursery for talented cricketers to emerge by showcasing their skills in an extremely competitive environment. Remember, every worthy cricketer has gone through the Ranji grind for a long time.
PC: Rediff
- The moot point to ponder over here is whether performances in the Ranji Trophy are accorded due importance for those cricketers excelling admirably toiling on unforgivable conditions. As we know, the selectors recently announced the squad for the ensuing one-off Test and 3 ODIs against Afghanistan. The selection generated tremendous interest simply because there are several important Tests lined up for the Test Championship Cycle, and also the 50-over World Cup will be played out in the year 2027 in South Africa. More specifically, the omission of a standout right-arm pacer having performed fantastically in the last two Ranji seasons – Auqib Nabi representing Jammu & Kashmir – has been strangely left out of the squad by the selectors. Why?
PC: ESPNcricinfo
- Remarkably, across the last two Ranji Trophy seasons, the right-arm pacer has claimed a combined 104 wickets, and many expected the selectors to reward him with a maiden India call-up on the back of such high-quality performance. With due respect to the Afghanistan Team, the Indian selectors could have used the one-off Test to test the J&K pacer’s skills at the highest level. However, the selectors instead picked Punjab’s uncapped pacer Gurnoor Brar as backup for Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna. It can be said with absolute conviction that the selectors grossly erred in not picking Nabi for the series. What message is being conveyed when a consistent domestic performer is simply ignored? The BCCI should accord greater importance to domestic performances, motivating cricketers to strive more to go through the domestic drudgery.
