Published: Nov 06, 2011, 10:33 AM (IST)
Edited: Aug 04, 2014, 03:30 PM (IST)
By Dileep V
The 2011-12 Ranji Trophy has seen a lot of players who have represented India taking part in the tournament, at least for the opening game. Names like Harbhajan Singh, Suresh Raina and Praveen Kumar, all of whom have been dropped for the first Test against the West Indies, have made themselves available for the domestic opener. Others in action are Shantakumaran Sreesanth, Rohit Sharma, Robin Uthappa, Ravindra Jadeja and Murali Vijay.
Harbhajan – three first-class matches since 2001
All eyes are on Harbhajan Singh, who hasn’t represented India since the ill-fated series in England in August. The fact that he was dropped for the recently-concluded One-Day Internationals (ODI) at home against England and the first Test against West Indies means he would be using the domestic games for Punjab to reclaim his place on the Test team. In fact, the Ranji Trophy match that he is playing now is his first in almost five years. Also since 2001, he has only played in three first-class matches. It’s difficult to fathom how somebody can go without representing his state team in domestic season for this long.
Harbhajan Singh’s Ranji Trophy record
|
M |
Wkts |
Avge |
SR |
BB |
|
| Overall in Ranji Trophy |
25 |
120 |
21.35 |
48.30 |
6-69 |
| Since India debut (March 1998) |
19 |
102 |
21.15 |
46.27 |
6-69 |
| Since 2001 |
3 |
15 |
21.93 |
40.67 |
4-39 |
Unlike his international record, Harbhajan has a fantastic record in India’s premier domestic competition. His record is Murliesque in terms of average and strike rate. Whether it reflects on his greater ability or the downfall in standards in domestic cricket is difficult to judge. That he made his debut for India after just six first-class matches didn’t help him in the cause of representing his state often.
Raina, on the other hand, is making his first Ranji appearance in over two years. He made his debut for India in 2005 and has been mainly playing ODI cricket, which probably allowed him to represent his state on a regular basis. That he was also in the scheme of things in Tests since 2010 meant he wasn’t free to play for his home state.
Suresh Raina’s Ranji Trophy record
|
M |
Runs |
Avge |
100s/50s |
|
| Overall in Ranji Trophy |
40 |
2740 |
39.71 |
5/22 |
| Since India debut (August 2005) |
28 |
2194 |
47.69 |
4/14 |
Raina’s longer format record seems to suggest he improved after making his debut for India in ODIs. But his inclusion in the Test series was more on the back of his ODI exploits than his stellar record in Ranji Trophy.
The cramped international schedule means the domestic tournaments fail to see the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan on a regular basis. With the setting up of National Cricket Academy (NCA), their participation in local tournaments has diminished further. Earlier an injured player had to play few domestic matches to prove his fitness, but now they just have to follow the rehabilitation program in the NCA and produce a certificate given by the doctors. The NCA might have competent people, but they are not in a position to judge a player’s fitness by mere drills done on few days – recent cases in point being Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan who were given fitness certificates by the NCA, only to fall apart even before the game had started.
Tendulkar has played for Mumbai only four times since 2001
Tendulkar has represented Mumbai only four times since 2001, the last of which came three years ago. Dravid last played for Karnataka in January 2010 notching up a brilliant unbeaten double hundred. Manish Pandey would have learnt a thing or two after he was involved in a century partnership with Dravid in that match.
VVS Laxman’s ODI wilderness meant he was able to represent Hyderabad more often playing 13 matches, but again the last of them coming almost two years ago. While Sehwag, Gambhir and Zaheer haven’t played in domestic tournament for more than three years now. MS Dhoni’s double duties – wicket-keeping and captaincy – meant he has not played for Jharkhand since May 2005.
The BCCI has to come up with a schedule which allows the established stars to play domestic cricket, similar to how the set up is in England. Those representing England are always made to play for the county, sometimes even when there is a gap in between two Tests.
In the absence of the international stars, runs and wickets will have to be taken at a discount because of the huge chasm between domestic and international cricket. Murali Vijay, for example, has an excellent Ranji and IPL record, but he has struggled to score even against a weak West Indies attack.
An international aspirant scalping Tendulkar could see his confidence soar. Likewise, if a batsman negotiates Zaheer Khan with confidence and gets a hundred, that century would have immense value and advance his case for an India cap. Sharing the same dressing room with international stars will help budding cricketers gain invaluable wisdom.
Agrees Tendulkar: “I think Ranji Trophy is an extremely important tournament. When I was part of the Mumbai Ranji Trophy squad, I could rub shoulders with players like Dilip Vengsarkar, Ravi Shastri, Sanjay Manjrekar, Lalchand Rajput, Chandrakant Pandit, Raju Kulkarni, Suru Nayak etc. It was a great opportunity for me to learn at such an early age. I thoroughly enjoyed my season. I was only 15 then and it was great fun to be part of such a powerful team.”
If IPL, again a domestic List-A tournament, can garner participation of all these giants in spite of the hectic international schedule, then it makes sense for them to play Ranji Trophy on a regular basis for raising the standard of domestic cricket and thereby honing the skills of young and talented cricketers like Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Varun Aaron and Rahul Sharma.
(Dileep. V is a Scouser fan, Sports freak, Movie buff, Laggard Quizzer and dreams of setting foot on Anfield one day)
