“Our cricket will be SPINELESS”: Ravi Shastri warns BCCI around ignoring Ranji Trophy

Ravi Shastri warns BCCI: The former Indian captain and coach has endorsed India’s prestigious first-class competition.

Had it not been for the ongoing third wave of COVID-19 in India, prestigious first-class competition Ranji Trophy would’ve been played right now between 38 teams across the country.

Originally scheduled to commence from November 16 last year, start date of Ranji Trophy 2021-22 was then changed to January 13. However, a steep rise in COVID cases in the country led to an almost last-minute postponement.

Just when Ranji Trophy was on the verge of getting cancelled for the second season in a row due to the pandemic, some state associations urged the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) to reconsider the decision.

“We are exploring the possibility of staging Ranji Trophy, cases were going up when it was postponed, now they seem to be coming down. The operations team is working on whether we can do the league stage next month and complete the rest of the tournament later [post IPL],” Dhumal told PTI yesterday hinting at the tournament being played in two phases for the first time in its 86-year history.

Ravi Shastri warns BCCI around ignoring Ranji Trophy

A primary reason why conducting the Ranji Trophy in one go had become an onerous task for the BCCI was a limited time period from now to the assumed start of Indian Premier League 2022 from March 27.

It was this morning that former India captain and coach Ravi Shastri took to social media platform Twitter to express concerns around the ignorance of Ranji Trophy. Labeling Ranji Trophy as the “backbone of Indian cricket”, 59-year old Shastri considered the sport to become “SPINELESS” if the tournament continues to be ignored.

Other than creating a massive void in the talent pool, the absence of Ranji Trophy also creates a massive hole in domestic players’ pockets especially the ones who don’t have IPL contracts. Readers must note that BCCI had paid 50% match fees to all players who has suffered financially due to the cancellation of Ranji Trophy 2020-21.