BCCI mulling over removing Ranji players limit in U-25 tournament
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is mulling over removing the limit on the number of Ranji players in the newly-conceived U-25 CK Nayudu Trophy and Men's State A championship.
The BCCI recently unveiled its domestic calendar for the upcoming 2021-22 season where they revealed that the U-25 inter-state tournaments will replace the U-23 championship.
Previously, only two Ranji Trophy players were allowed to participate in the U-23 championship. However, under the new U-25 CK Nayudu Trophy and State-A one-day competition will see no limit on the number of players that can feature in the tournaments.
An office-bearer of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) confirmed the development to Cricbuzz and said:
"There is no limit in the participation of the Ranji players in the U-25 championships. Our understanding is both U-25 CK Nayudu Trophy and State A one-day championship, teams can consist of any number of Ranji players. There are no restrictions."
State associations express satisfaction over BCCI's decision
The BCCI's decision to remove the limit on the number of Ranji players that can participate in the U-25 4-day and one-day championships seems to have pleased the state associations.
These associations believe that removing the restrictions on the number of players that can participate in the competition will allow out-of-form Ranji cricketers to gain confidence and form while featuring in these tournaments.
An office-bearer of the Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) echoed the same while citing the example of Vishvaraj Jadeja, who made a brilliant comeback to the Ranji side after having lost his form midway through the 2019-20 season.
The office-bearer told Cricbuzz:
"Why should it be any other way? We had a player last year (in 2019), who had lost form in the Ranji Trophy. He bounced back into the side after playing in the U-23 tournament. We think the U-25 tournament will help in the same way for more players."
Meanwhile, former Indian international Saba Karim, who oversaw Indian domestic cricket during his stint as BCCI's general manager, has welcomed the Indian board's decision. Karim told Cricuzz:
"If they have made that rule, it is a well thought out decision. Just like India A has been the feeder line for the national team, State A and CK Nayudu U-25 tournaments can be the feeder line for the main state teams."
While the Ranji Trophy will be staged between January-March of 2022, the U-25 CK Nayudu Trophy is scheduled to take place between January-April next year.
Similarly, the Vijay Hazare One-Day Trophy will run from December 1-29 while the Senior State A One-day competition will be staged between November 9-December 10.