Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly defended the organization for failing to host the Ranji Trophy in the last two years. He acknowledged that India's domestic competition is "the most important" and blamed the problems on the pandemic, saying organizing any tournament in the current situation is a "challenge".
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual red-ball tournament in 2020-21 was canceled for the first time in 87 years, putting a huge strain on the lives of domestic cricketers, officials and other stakeholders. It was on the verge of being canceled again this year before fraternity pressure forced the change.
The tournament will now be divided into two parts, with the league stage taking place before IPL 2022 and the playoffs after the grand event.
Speaking to Sportstar, Sourav Ganguly said:
"Obviously, we will miss one Ranji Trophy season - the 2020-21 season." We have always wanted to host India's most important tournament. But I can't believe what the world has seen in the last two years has never happened before. Keeping all these things in mind, organizing the tournament was really a challenge."
Former India captain Virat Kohli said that he is keeping his fingers crossed for a successful tournament. Sourav Ganguly added:
"The Cooch Behar Trophy was organized, and then the third wave came. Fifty players caught this virus on the first day alone. As a result, it is difficult. We are lucky, however, tournaments can still be held. We Still crossing our fingers for a smooth transition."
Indian cricket is supported by the Ranji Trophy. The moment you start ignoring it, our cricket will become spineless.
As per reports in the media, the league phase will start from February 16 and will go on till March 5. The 38-team competition will be held in nine cities: Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Trivandrum, Cuttack, Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Baroda, and Rajkot.
"We thought increasing the match fee was the best option," Sourav Ganguly says of the contract system.
Sourav Ganguly also defended the BCCI, claiming that a contract system for first-class cricketers, which he had promised at the beginning of his tenure, is yet to be fulfilled.
On the advice of state associations, he said, last year the board had decided against it. He also referred to BCCI's restructured payment slabs and match fee hike, claiming that they have "nearly doubled the compensation to players."
Sourav Ganguly said:
"We didn't go down the contract route last year because the state associations recommended it." However, as is the case with Ranji Trophy, you might have noticed that we have created payment slabs. We almost doubled his salary. That's what we've done. We decided that increasing the match fee was the best solution. If you play a certain number of matches, you will be paid a certain amount, as is the case with the contract system. We kept that slab, but we paid the players almost double.
The IPL 2022 auction, which will be held in Bengaluru from February 12-13, is the next major event of the BCCI.