Hi Aakash,

I am sure this kind of stupid scheduling is due to the Champions League. Is it not the BCCI Technical Committee Headed by Sunil Gavaskar that draws up the schedule?
Lalit Modi tried to postpone the first test against England for the Champions League. So what chance do domestic matches stand? It is a shame.

All the best for the rest of the Ranji matches.

I'm a big fan of your writing since the days of the wisden magazine..myself a keen follower of the domestic scene i really think things are so much better nowadays..My friend plays in the plate league and he works all year round for staying fit for ranji cos he knows thats the only time which matters..for him couple of good scores during his "purple patch" are the results of his year long work..it also means by making good scores now he has his place safe for next season.so be it..and why do todays cricketers behave like a prima donna when far greater players have plied their trade for so many years in ranji grind for as little as 500 Rs per day..m sure the schedule must feel cramped but than cricketers are getttin much more chances now dys to play in T20 and other leagues during the off season..

Aakash, excellent points. I like you more as a cricket writer than as an actual cricketer. Sorry about the left handed compliment. In your generation, good cricketers abound, but good cricket writers are non-existent. Think about it. Use your USP for your post-retirement career :-)

Hello Akash Bhai,

I am a big fan of your writing and your Rock Solid Technique against the fast bowlers. I am a Fast bowler play for KSCA U-22 team. and I completly agree with your point of the schedules of the matches and the kind of wickets that we get to play on.For a fast bowlers its really a pain at the very wrong place. Hope fully next year when I'll play for Ranji team we'll might get to see a better schedule and some bowling friendly wickets.

Wish you all the luck to retain the title for this year.

Cheers

now a days ranji trophy is gaining importance tremendously due to the fact that many ranji players who can never dream of playing a test or an odi have the option of playing in the ipl if they are good. the money is also very lucarative. so instead of complaining should good ranji players take a break whenever neccessary and not blame the bcci for scheduling. take the example of dhoni for opting out of the sri lanka test tour.

Hi Aakash,
It is an absolute pity that BCCI continues to neglect the domestic scene. The international scheduling is not any better..What is the need to play 7 meaningless ODIs against Eng? I think 3 ODIs and 3 tests would have been a lot better, since the players would have a lot less traveling to do...Are Ranji players given flight tickets? or do you have to travel by train?

Hey Aakash...Super article again...Maybe the root of all problems is having FLATTTTTTT wickets...you reckon trying uncovered pitches for a season is a bright idea...because we just TALK about sporting wickets but never MAKE one. way, we could see more chances of results, less tired bowlers and only the capable ones getting runs

Another excellent post Aakash (I also agree with JK's sentiments on the meaningless 7-ODI series; does anyone remember the 6-ODI series played against England just 1-2 years ago?; far better to have a full test series, so that fluke results as are possible in a 2-test series are seen in context).
Aakash: I wanted to take the opportunity to wish you the best of luck in all forms of cricket -- I hope to see you in the Indian side soon. An under-appreciated truth is that India's subsequent inability to build on its strong showing in Australia and Pakistan in 2003-04 can be ascribed in significant measure to the fact that you were dropped. This immediately led to a weakness at the top (I do not believe having a second swashbuckler like Gambhir to partner Sehwag is a good idea in SA, England, Australia). Sadly, the Board and the public is often swayed by glamour, and doesn't seem to be able to resist free-scorers, whether or not the test match TEAM would benefit from them or not.

I'm sure Akash believes in what he writes. But, the job of a cricketer is to play cricket. Why complain? If its so difficult, then maybe Akash should take up a regular job like the other 99.9% folks in this country, and rail against the boss for asking him to work five days a week.

Can't have 'em both ways, buddy !!!

Aakash,

I think this is the direction our entire society all over the world are going towards. Life is becoming more competitive, hectic and complex. We have to deal with it. There are more monetary benefit for Indian cricketers and lots of opportunity so you can really rip the benefit with your hard work. I agree with you that players might feel more burnt out with this cramped schedule, however they need to be bold not to play in all matches and allow rotation to come into picture. That will also help to build a good bench and allow new players to show their talent. But most players are apprehensive about the fact that it'll be difficult to comeback if others play well. Thats why sometimes they continue to play even ignoring minor injury. I think its responsibility of all state cricket Admins as well as BCCI to counsel players on this and remove this fear. You take breaks, come back rejuvinated and perform.. that should be the mantra.

what do u think jk, bcci and domestic players travelling by plane? i wont be surprised if the players would be made to travel in local st buses if possible to savee money

Hi akash sir, u r so right ..anyways the bcci doesnt seem to be bothered abt the domestic structure. I guess outsiders like me who are really passionate abt the sports should be given a chance in the management.
And one more thing, can u please tell the Cricinfo people to post live scores of the Ranji matches. They hardly giving it any coverage. Cricinfo , are u listening??

Good article, Aakash. A hard tournament at the best of times has gotten even harder, for all the wrong reasons. My sympathies to the bowlers and their skippers.

Shyam, the CL T20 is a seven-day tournament. The Ranji schedule that was drawn up before this tournament was accommodated, wasn't the stuff of legend that you envision it might have been. It was nearly as difficult. So let's not already start blaming a tournament that you and I might enjoy watching. The CL T20 is after all, the best DOMESTIC sides in the world taking on each other, albeit in the short format. If you like your domestic cricket, chances are, you'll find the CL T20 interesting too.

Hi Aakash
Ya i do agree that schedule should be planned well but a cricketer cant complain of excessive cricket, i guess a cricketer gets to cricket because he loves the game, i guess there should'nt be any complain of excessive cricket.

True that a break of two days between games is insufficient and takes a toll on the players,specially the fast bowlers.Rotation policy is the best thing to do in such cases.That way the player who is moving out will not have to develop the impression that his place in the team is at stake.

I suggest we have players' associations in India.An association that will represent the concerns of the players to the board.International cricketers are well taken care of by the BCCI,but domestic cricketers? An association will definitely help.

About the toll on you,Akash,I suggest that once Delhi reaches a safe position in the points table and if there are more league matches left,I suggest you opt out and take some rest.If India win against England in B'lore maybe Viru Sehwag can be rested for the last 3 ODIs and Viru Kohli can be given a chance.

All the best to you and to the Delhi team for the rest of the Ranji trophy.

Will Mr Chopra please own up to some personal responsibility instead of whingeing about everything under the sun?
First there was the DDCA who were to blame for Mr Chopra not seeing Gautam Gambhir score a double ton, now it is the scheduling that is responsible for Delhi's current predicament.

How about admitting the fact that Delhi's batsmen, led by their captain, are not good enough or bat long enough to give their bowlers some rest?

And finally "In the past I would have tried to prevent people from scoring easy centuries" - nice way to belittle the achievements of your peers.. Just waht is expected from the captain of the National Champions!

Cheers,

Hi Aakash
I agree with you about the break thing...at least 5 days of break should be given especially since traveling is involved.All the ranji matches should be made 5 days.That will definetly increase the chances of a result. The point system in which for a drawn match the team taking a 1st innings lead gets 3 points whereas the opposition gets 1 point is an absolutely rubbish rule & should be scrapped. Obviously the team having the lead would not wish to enforce a win since they aldready get 3 points.Instead both teams should be given equal points say maybe 2 points each if they draw. And the pitches in the domestic circuit have to be improved. Bowlers are having literally no role to play nowadays.

Nice article and it tells us o the situation here very well.
At Homer: The idea of this blog is, I suppose, to make us aware of the situation of domestic cricket and not how Delhi is performing. The complaints need to be looked into and actions taken to rectify them. I'm sure such a scheduling is taking its toll on all the bowlers and hence the record number of 200s and suchlike already this season.
At Edgedandtaken: Mate, the schedule for the Ranji season was drawn up keeping the T20 Champs League in mind and that is basically the prime reason for this cramming of games. But yeah, I too will enjoy the competition. Maybe they could extend the league for an extra fortnight (the Ranji Trophy that is) so there's a lil more rest.
Aakash, keep it up and best of luck for the next match!

Hey Akash........... accept my congratulations. You always write sense & write well pal :-)

Cheers -- Rajesh

I totally agree with Aakash simply becoz the no. of super & plate league teams which we hav,all belong to various parts of India so travelling within couple days for nxt match which selectors too take as parameter for selection is rubbish.thus at the end of the season da team which wins wont b totally happy simply becoz they wud know too dat it wasnt a fair competition.Attitude of BCCI isnt good too.Making money thru CL n all is fine but @ the cost of own domestic talent??coping soccer format is ok but bcci shud c the no. of teams which play UEFA CL & quality of schedule shud b learned too.this tournament shud b arranged like WC.once in two or 4 years.1 more thing is recently launched www.bcci.tv..this site has to show live scores for all DOMESTIC TOURNAMENTS being an official 1..but board doesnt seem to b interested.sad.Board shud give EQUAL attention 2wards our own domestic t20 matches.Wat happened 2 da Inter State T-20 Tournament which was held in 2006/07??not on da list ne more?

Points well made, Aakash. The scheduling could definitely do with a lot of improvement.

At the same time, let us also look at the other reasons why teams are fielding for days together at a stretch.

1. The sorry state of the pitches in the country: Absolutely nothing is being done to improve the condition of the pitches and the bowlers are made to toil on flat tracks that have little to nothing for them. The tracks are completely loaded in favor of the batsmen.

2. The quality of bowling: While we have seen the emergence of some talented young bowlers like Ishant Sharma, the general standards of bowling remain average to low in India. Let us accept the fact that the lack of quality bowlers is also a cause for the inability of fielding sides to get the opposition out quickly. This also leads to the fatigue referred to in the article.

A concerted effort has to be made to improve the state of the pitches, the quality of bowling and the scheduling of games.