Build-up to Indian Domestic Season 2008-09

[Arjun]

nope.. I meant abolish the zonal teams altogether. Let the Duleep Trophy be between the 8 IPL teams alone, home and away basis... They can get whoever is available from their squads to play for them. Say a Matt Hayden happens to be available, then the super Kings play him along with the other Indian players in their squad...

I wonder what such a team will look like.

The idea is to eliminate the corporate owners completely, so we go back to the Ranji and Duleep teams. If we let India Cements run Chennai Super Kings, we'll again see Badrinath batting below Hayden, Hussey, Fleming and Morkel. The team owners won't really consider what will help Indian cricket and the Indian team, but what will make their brand look better. Ultimately, they won't take any risks (specialist batsmen like Badrinath batting below Morkel, Joginder not getting a bat, Yusuf and Ravi Jadeja not bowling, Nayar not bowling, Pinal batting at seven and Ronchi opening) and give the domestic performers any chances. In fact, Spice didn't even give Yuvraj a chance to get settled with the bat, playing him below all their internationals, and he struggled when needed most against the Super Kings.

Let's look at these breakups of internationals for Ranji/ROD-

• Mumbai: Dilhara, Malinga, Bosman
• Maharashtra: Pollock, Nel, Prince
• Vidarbha: Dwayne Bravo, Dwayne Smith and Luke Ronchi
• Chennai: Hayden, Hussey, Muralitharan
• Kerala: Fleming, Oram, Morkel
• Railways: Chamara, Ntini
• Hyderabad: Vaas, Afridi, Gilchrist
• Andhra: Zoysa, Styris, Gibbs
• Services: Symonds, Chamara
• Karnataka: Taylor, Kallis, Steyn
• Goa: Misbah, Chanderpaul, Bracken
• Bengal: Ponting, Gayle, Akhtar
• Orissa: McCullum, Hussey, Mendis
• Jharkhand: Salman, Umar Gul, Morne Morkel
• Baroda: Graeme Smith, Justin Langer
• Rajasthan: Warne and Watson
• Saurashtra: Tanvir, Akmal
• Gujarat: Mascarenhas, Flintoff
• Punjab: Marsh, Brett Lee, Sangakkara
• HP: Hopes, Mahela, Sarwan
• J&K: Kyle Mills, Luke Pomersbach
• Delhi: McGrath, Vettori
• Uttar Pradesh: Vettori, AB de Villiers
• Haryana: Maharoof, Pietersen, Alistair Cook
• Madhya Pradesh: Dilshan, Chris Broad

Worth a try...

 

[Arjun]

India A to play Australia A in two FC matches.

This is a decent team, although we've seen enough of Badrinath in India A. He should be an India regular now. The selection of Parthiv Patel and Robin Uthappa is a disappointment, as they've been tried in the main team and have been found wanting, especially in one-dayers. The selection of Mohnish Parmar is a bizarre one- he's nowhere on the spin chart, can't bat and has even been called for chucking in the recent past.

It's good to see Amit Mishra and Piyush Chawla together, and hopefully both will make the playing XI. The team desperately needs multi-skilled players (particularly bowlers who can score runs) so these two have a good chance. There are at least eight such players if you don't count Irfan- five of them will make a lower order who can make sizeable contributions together. This is something to think about when selecting the ODI team.

And of course, it's a comeback event for Sreesanth. Hopefully we'll see a forceful performance from the fiery young pacer in this series, as he has a recall to play for. Cheteshwar Pujara is one to watch. Having been kicked out by Shah Rukh Khan from his IPL team, the Kolkata (Red Chillies?) Knight Riders, he may have a point to prove, and hopefully we'll see at least two big hundreds from the youngster.

Preferred XI?

• Pujara
• Rahane
• Dhawan
• Badrinath (C)
• Kaif
• Patel (WK)
• Chawla (LBG)
• Mishra (LBG)
• Vinay Kumar (RM)
• Sreesanth (RFM)
• Tyagi (LM)

We'd prefer Rajesh Pawar or Yusuf Pathan in place of Parmar, and possibly Yo Mahesh, though Vinay Kumar is an interesting choice.

 

[adharcric]

Can you put this in the new thread?

 

[adharcric]

Great news, looks like all of the big names will be available for the Irani Trophy.

Delhi should be very competitive with Chopra, Gambhir, Dhawan and Sehwag at the top, not to mention Ishant and Sangwan taking the new ball.

The ROI side should be interesting - will the selectors just put the rest of the test side out there?

 

[Arjun]

Great news, looks like all of the big names will be available for the Irani Trophy.

Delhi should be very competitive with Chopra, Gambhir, Dhawan and Sehwag at the top, not to mention Ishant and Sangwan taking the new ball.

The ROI side should be interesting - will the selectors just put the rest of the test side out there?

Ideally, it should be the same as the Test team. In place of Sehwag, Gambhir and Ishant, they can bring in Rahane and two all-rounders (any of Irfan, Yusuf and Praveen Kumar), just to give them a try. The usual trend is to pick several reserves in the team, but if they're not good enough to make the Rest Of India team, why pick them?

 

[Arjun]

Now I'd like to know the fan opinion about the IPL: Is the BCCI doing enough to get the maximum cricketing return from it? No doubt the IPL is better than the domestic season, in terms of money, viewership as well as the cricket played. However, while some teams have got a lot out of it (Australia have Ronchi, Watson and Marsh, the Windies have Bravo, South Africa have Smith, Morkel, Steyn and Ntini, the Kiwis had McCullum, and Pakistan found Tanvir), we don't see the Indians getting much out of this. Maybe because it was T20. Maybe because the focus was more on brands than cricket. So have the BCCI capitalised on it enough? What can they do to get more out of it?

 

[Arjun]

Irani dates have been advanced. This is a good time for full-strength teams on both sides. Unfortunately, Dhawan is injured, so that's a blow. Here's a prospective Delhi team-

• Sehwag
• Gambhir
• Chopra
• Virat Kohli
• Manhas
• Bhatia (RM)
• Punit Bhisht (WK)
• Suhail Sharma (OB)
• Nehra (LMF)
• Sangwan (LM)
• Ishant Sharma (RFM)
• RESERVE: Bhandari (RM)

Nehra is more or less in by default, being a former India regular and a decent bowler for Mumbai Indians. The lack of a spinner is obvious here. If we see a Rest Of India A take the field, Delhi may easily win.

 

[Arjun]

Oh my. Oh...my! Guess who's back! I wonder, is that team in such dire straits that he should come back?

 

[Perm]

He also said he would be open to join the Indian Premier League if the opportunity arose. "Obviously it will be great to play in the IPL next season and I will take up the chance if it comes along."

Says it all IMO.

 

[Arjun]

He also said he would be open to join the Indian Premier League if the opportunity arose. "Obviously it will be great to play in the IPL next season and I will take up the chance if it comes along."

Says it all IMO.

Who'll choose him? He'll be excess baggage, batting at eight, and then be sent home to make way for friends of franchise owners in the team hotel.

 

[Precambrian]

But still he'll be entitled to some basic salary i think if he gets selected. What's he got to lose?

 

[Arjun]

State associations can select four outstation players

Cricinfo staff
August 30, 2008

State associations will now be permitted to include four "guest" players [ those from areas outside their jurisdiction] in their squad from the 2008-09 season onwards, up from the three that was previously permitted.

One overseas player can be included among the four, but he must have played at least ten Tests or 20 ODIs. However, only three outstation players can be included in the playing XI. The decision was made at a meeting of the BCCI technical committee, chaired by Sunil Gavaskar, in Mumbai on Saturday. The last date for associations to register their guest players will be September 1 every year.

No high-profile overseas players have featured for India's state associations, with the likes of Vikram Solanki, Kabir Ali and Nayan Doshi, former India left-arm spinner Dilip Doshi's son, having played in recent seasons. The first two turned out for Rajasthan, while Doshi played for Saurashtra, the region his family originally hails from.

However, things could change, with many overseas players having been part of the squads of the eight franchises that contested the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League earlier in the year. But it's unlikely that associations will be able to match the sums franchises shelled out for the big names; Andrew Symonds fetched a whopping US$1.35 million for his participation in the six-week long event. The IPL rules allowed teams a maximum of four overseas recruits in the playing XI.

The 2008-09 season will begin with the Irani Trophy match - between Ranji Trophy champions Delhi and Rest of India - which has been advanced to September 24, instead of October 1-5 as originally scheduled. The BCCI working committee also deliberated on the amendments in playing conditions for domestic tournaments. They chose to retain the original Powerplay rule in the forthcoming season.

© Cricinfo

Interesting...

 

[Precambrian]

The question is who'd want to slog in the dry heat for this pay?

 

[Arjun]

The question is who'd want to slog in the dry heat for this pay?

It's not much in comparison to those obnoxiously fat pay packages from the franchises. Surely, the BCCI isn't bankrupt enough to pay so little to overseas players? They can, somehow, decide on team ownership and sources of finances to take care of that. This was the one good thing about the IPL, and we'd like to see that taken into the domestic scene, even for FC and List-A. The economics shouldn't be too tough to work on, especially when it's only one overseas player a team. Of coure, some associations can't afford an overseas player, but again, economics need to be worked out.

 

[Precambrian]

I think this could attract perhaps the B level international cricketers who missed out on IPL but want to make their share of Indian money. The problem is that only a handful among these teams are in a position to really offer anything of substance in terms of money and comfort like Mumbai, Maha, Delhi, etc. Forget teams like Kerala, Jharkand etc. So that leaves little on plate.

And what's this thing about sep 1 deadline? it's already here!

 

[Arjun]

I think this could attract perhaps the B level international cricketers who missed out on IPL but want to make their share of Indian money. The problem is that only a handful among these teams are in a position to really offer anything of substance in terms of money and comfort like Mumbai, Maha, Delhi, etc. Forget teams like Kerala, Jharkand etc. So that leaves little on plate.

And what's this thing about sep 1 deadline? it's already here!

The finances will, as I said, have to be worked out. Either the BCCI can contribute (they're sitting on loads of cash, now multiplied by IPL earnings) or they can work out issues of team ownership. However, we don't want film stars owning teams, as they happen to care scratch for cricket. A few aspects from the IPL can be taken forward here. Maybe someone else can buy out and run the Kerala team, but then, issues of 'state pride' may come up here.

That deadline will be in force from the next year.

 

[Arjun]

The pay per match has been hiked to Rs.37000, and while it doesn't match those astronomical sums from IPL, it shouldn't be too little. As for the foreign players issue, the BCCI say that the Ranji series should be used to nurture home-grown talent, not breed foreigners, and hence the one-foreigner-per-team, as also the 15-Test-20-ODI rule. Good idea, but they could have stretched it further to, say, 25 Tests and 50 ODIs. Mumbai Mirror can't stop complaining about this (they complain all the time when they talk Indian cricket) but then, the youngsters in India will learn a lot more when bowling to Hayden or facing McGrath than some youngster- who, in comparison, will have learnt a lot and would be better equipped to face the Indians in the future.

The Irani Trophy will also have a Test look to it, with many Test regulars making the Rest Of India XI. That will mean eight places in that team will be the regulars from the national team, leaving open places for the openers and a seamer- maybe Praveen Kumar, Jaffer and Asnodkar? Maybe even a wildcard like Pathan or Praveen Kumar will do here; they've opened the innings with a wicketkeeper countless times before.

 

[honestbharani]

Won't it just be simpler to abolish the zonal sides and ask the IPL franchises to play in the Duleep and Deodhar Trophy and let the Ranji be the place from where talent scouts for the franchises can pick up players for their franchise teams???

 

[brockley]

How much are ranji players going to be paid in US dollars?

 

[Precambrian]

If at current rates a pitiable 900 USD per match, less than what Dhoni made per ball last IPL.

BTW, Your idea of IPL sides playing Duleep trophy could not be practical as a window needs to be found to accomodate the international players. The ICC would never be willing to bend to that extent i think.

As to legends like Warne or McGrath playing the domestic circuit sounds fantastic, like the IPL they can be offered additional mentoring roles like bowling coach, etc, and finances shouldn't be a problem, with a sponsor thrown in. But i would love them at the Academy for youngsters, as the net for catch will be broader.

As to the Irani trophy, I think instead of Asnodkar and tried-and-discarded Jaffer, Shikar Dhawan and a much improved Akash Chopra be given a chance. Also Kaif be considered a look in.