Duleep Trophy after Ranji ties

BANGALORE, June 4: Duleep Trophy which preceded the Ranji Trophy championship will now be played after the Ranji season from the ensuing season. The Technical Committee of the BCCI which met at the National Cricket Academy here on Monday mooted this proposal after deliberating for close to three hours.
The meeting was attended by technical committee chairman Sunil Gavaskar, chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar, secretary Niranjan Shah, joint secretary M P Pandove and treasurer Srinivasan.
Shah said: "From this year onwards, we are planning to have Duleep Trophy after the completion of Ranji Trophy. This suggestion will be made to the Working Committee and based on the decision, we will discuss it in the annual general body meeting."
The Ranji format, which was supposed to see a change wherein the Elite Group would have had only 10 teams, will not be changed this season.
"After long deliberations we decided to continue with the same format for one more year. Later, we will try to work out on the suggestions and make the changes accordingly," said Shah. Shah said suggestions from the captains and coaches conclave held in Mumbai in April were also discussed during the meeting.
"It would be unfair to remove five teams without giving sufficient time. So we decided to retain the format and watch for one more year," he said.
But the points pattern for the Ranji Trophy matches will be changed. In a drawn match, the team that takes the first innings lead will get three points as against two earlier. And the second team will pocket one point. An outright win will fetch a team five points which was four earlier. One bonus would be credited to the team for a 10-wicket or innings win. The team losing gets no points.
Shah said it was difficult to accommodate a twenty20 domestic tournament in the ensuing season but the Programmes and Fixtures Committee will try to fix a twenty20 event. "We did it last year since we were participating in the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa," he added. Earlier, Shah confirmed that the board had received an application from South African Graham Ford for the coach's post. "We will certainly look into it at the coaches meeting," he said.
Shah said that the selection committee meeting will be held in Bangalore and the teams for Ireland and England tours will be chosen after the Working Committee meets on June 12. "A two-member committee comprising vice-president Shashank Manohar and treasurer N Srinivasan will meet the players on the contract issue on June 11 and submit a proposal on this on June 12 at the Working Committee."
Decisions On Domestic Scene
* The Ranji Trophy format will not be changed in the current season. The number of teams in the Elite Group will stay at 15, instead of being trimmed down to 10 as was suggested by the BCCI's working committee. The committee thought it would be unfair to remove five teams immediately.
* The points pattern in the Ranji Trophy, however, has been amended. In a drawn match, the team that wrests the first-innings lead will get three points instead of two, and the opposition will pocket one point instead of none. An outright win will fetch a team five point instead of four, and a bonus point will be awarded for an innings victory or a 10-wicket win. The losing team will, of course, bag no points.
* The Duleep Trophy inter-zonal tournament will now be played after the conclusion of the Ranji Trophy, and not at the beginning of the season.
* Because of tight schedules, the domestic Twenty20 tournament might not be held this season, but the programmes and fixtures committee will try to arrange a Twenty20 event.