New Ranji season puts young batters in focus

With IPL promising quick rewards, do batters have the wherewithal to grind out runs in India's premier first-class tournament?

Is the batting culture of Indian domestic cricket at the crossroads? White-ball selection hinges on performance in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy, with the added incentive of an IPL contract these days. The tournaments too are now scheduled in such a way that IPL scouts get a good look at prospective buys before validating bids in December’s IPL mini-auction. But what about the Ranji Trophy?

Sustained excellence in the Ranji Trophy doesn’t cut it anymore. (AP)

No one will deny India’s premier first-class tournament has long ceased to be a one-stop selection ground for Tests. Duleep Trophy narrows the scrutiny to a zonal basis, before the ‘A’ tours serve as another sorting level. But since Test specialists evidently aren’t in vogue anymore, batters are being conditioned to taking the quicker IPL route to selection. That has automatically reinforced the belief that T20-like batting in the Ranji Trophy is the only way forward.

“The art of leaving balls has gone for a toss, more acutely in the last five-six years,” Bengal captain and former India player Manoj Tiwary told HT from Visakhapatnam ahead of their Ranji Trophy clash against Andhra. “Everyone wants to play aggressively all the time and that’s what I don’t understand. Some of the players still believe doing well in Ranji Trophy will eventually fetch them a place in the Test team. But the thought process of the maximum percentage of youngsters is driven towards the aim of playing the IPL.”

That sustained excellence in the Ranji Trophy doesn’t cut it anymore was evident when Mumbai’s Sarfaraz Khan wasn’t picked for the 2023 Test tour of West Indies despite three back-to-back successful domestic seasons. “What does he have to do to be picked in the squad? He might not be in the XI, but you pick him in the team,” Sunil Gavaskar was quoted as saying by Sports Today after the squad was announced. “Tell him that his performances are being recognised. Otherwise, stop playing Ranji Trophy. Say, it's of no use, you just play IPL and think you are good enough for the red-ball game as well."

Despite the BCCI’s commitment to preserving Test cricket as the most elite level of the sport, the average domestic cricketer is instinctively more drawn to the dazzle and financial freedom of an IPL contract. “I don’t blame the youngsters,” said Tiwary. “I think the IPL has benefitted a lot of younger players. You get fame and security in very little time, and you don’t even have to represent your state to earn an IPL contract.”

Broader factors come into play as well. Once Ranji Trophy reverted to the home-and-away format in 2017-18, most state associations resorted to preparing slower pitches that didn’t allow fast bowlers to challenge the batters enough. So when the 2020 season had to be abandoned because of the pandemic, Ravichandran Ashwin identified it as a time for Tamil Nadu — a major force in domestic cricket — to re-examine their outlook. “Our league structure needs a rethink because we can't produce fast bowlers on dead pitches,” Ashwin had said on his YouTube channel. “We need better wickets and have to come up with new solutions. Maybe we can have a points incentive for bowling out teams and for wickets taken by pacers. Then you will automatically see livelier wickets and our batsmen will also get better at playing fast bowling. Good bounce helps spinners as well.”

Considering how the South Africa tour went down for India, the technique of younger batters is bound to be questioned again. But Tiwary believes nothing major is expected to change overnight at the domestic level. “Even if it’s a four-five day game, they play with the intent of T20. They want to improve their strike rate and show people how aggressive they are. From the broader perspective, the team (balance) gets disturbed. Having said that, this is where the senior players and coaches must step in. These things will happen.

“If a youngster sees an uncapped player who hasn’t represented his state or played just a few matches get ₹50 lakh or a crore, how can you stop this player from dreaming of landing an IPL contract? It’s humanly not possible unless the IPL governing council comes up with a different purse for these players.”