Rajasthan not included in domestic schedule following RCA's suspension
The Board of Control for Cricket in India have shut the door on Rajasthan Cricket Team’s participation in domestic competitions for the upcoming season. The decision has come after Rajasthan’s board allowed Lalit Modi to contest elections and become the President of the Rajasthan Cricket Association(RCA).
Modi was banned for life by the BCCI following his financial disciplinarians. When he was re-elected to the post earlier this year, the Indian cricket board 'indefinitely' suspended the RCA. With the interests of players in mind, the BCCI officials unsuccessfully convinced Rajasthan’s government in a bid to come up with a solution.
"Three senior BCCI executives had come to Jaipur to meet government officials to sort out the issue. However, the government officials did not even extend them basic courtesies, forget about help. The state's chief secretary hardly gave them anytime and the sports secretary made them wait in the court yard before meeting them," claims TOI in a report.
It was further reported that a solution cannot be reached as the government is not in a position to help on this matter.
"Not only were the basic courtesies missing, these officials were quite bullish. If nothing else, you are at least expected to treat senior BCCI officials like Brijesh Patel and Anirudh Choudhary with some respect," a source informed.
With the Rajasthan State Sports Act not permitting the BCCI to come up with their own ‘Rajasthan’ team, the players now face a dire situation.
Ranji groupings
Group A: Karnataka, Bengal, Mumbai, Railways, Uttar Pradesh, Baroda, Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh
Group B: Maharashtra, Punjab, Gujarat, Saurashtra, Delhi, Vidarbha, Haryana, Odisha
Group C: Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Hyderabad, Andhra, Assam, Tripura, Jharkhand, Services.
Domestic tournament schedule for 2014/15
| Tournament | Dates |
|---|---|
| Duleep Trophy | October 15 – November 3 |
| Zonal one-day leagues | November 7 – 14 |
| Vijay Hazare Trophy | November 19 – 25 |
| Deodhar Trophy | November 29 – December 3 |
| Ranji Trophy league | December 7 to February 8 |
| Ranji Trophy quarter-finals | February 15 to 19 |
| Ranji Trophy semi-finals | February 25 to March 1 |
| Ranji Trophy final | March 8 to 12 |
| Irani Cup | March 17 to 21 |
| Zonal Twenty20 | March 25 to 28 |
| Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy | April 1 to 7 |