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'Ranji Trophy sides can absorb 4-5 West Indies cricketers...': Ex-India keeper's ambitious but thoughtful suggestion
The Ranji Trophy doesn’t allow international players but Deep Dasgupta said if the BCCI permits then the West Indies players could benefit.
The West Indies vs India Test series concluded after the second Test match ended in a draw as rain washed out the final day's play in Trinidad, allowing India to seal the series 1-0 following their win by an innings and 141 runs in Dominica. While the visitors were largely dominant, West Indies used the opportunity to blood young talents such as Alick Athanaze and Kirk McKenzie as they look to restructure a struggling red-ball outfit.
There have been plenty of discussions regarding what the West Indies can do to help return their national team to the heights of the past. Athanaze and McKenzie have shown that there is no dearth of talent then what is the issue? What can be done to revive the Windies cricket, especially in the longest format?
Former Indian player and current commentator Deep Dasgupta had what he called a ‘left-field’ idea for Indian cricket to provide a platform for the up-and-coming Windies players.
Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, Dasgupta said: “Bottom-line is there is potential, there is talent coming through in red-ball cricket. We’ve seen the younger lot come through, but to make the West Indies Test team a success or competitive, what they really need to do is play more and more of this format.”
It has been a matter of concern for West Indian cricket that many of the modern talents prefer the shorter form of the game, leaving their ranks in red-ball cricket relatively thin and unprepared for when the best teams visit. Dasgupta spoke of the importance of having match-practice, and how the BCCI could lend a helping hand by opening its doors to West Indian cricketers participating in their domestic red ball tournaments.
‘If BCCI agrees then West Indies cricketers can play in Ranji Trophy’
“Ideally you want them to play as many Test matches as possible, against competitive sides, the top 4-5 sides, but at times that’s not possible or practical. That leads to me a left-field idea, which is if West Indies Cricket can identify a few players and BCCI agrees to allow these players to play first-class cricket here in India,” said the former Bengal player.
“It happens for a couple of months, October-November, West Indies can release 4-5 of the youngsters like McKenzie and Alick and a few of their predominantly red ball bowlers. In India we have 38 First-class sides, we can easily absorb 4-5-6 players like that, which could be a great help to West Indies cricket and make them more competitive.”
The Ranji Trophy is a tournament which doesn’t allow for international players, in a way the English County Championships do, and there are no chances for that to change as of now considering the busy international calendar and the mushrooming of T20 leagues. But if such a policy does come in the future then the West Indian players will surely be beneficiaries.
“Might be a very left-field idea, but an idea that I think can be useful,” concluded Dasgupta.
Indian domestic cricket has allowed West Indian players to become superstars in the past, with players such as Dwayne Bravo, Keiron Pollard, and Chris Gayle finding second homes in Indian cities over the course of the IPL. A similar influence could take place in red-ball cricket, in what might be an ambitious but highly worthwhile plan.
