Delhi bullish about Ranji Trophy success on neutral venues

Newly appointed coach of the Delhi Ranji cricket team, K Bhaskar Pillai, believes the move by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to conduct matches of the upcoming Ranji Trophy season on neutral venues won’t make much difference to his side to be led by Gautam Gambhir, as he believes they have the potential on any kind of surface.

Following accusations that several teams were preparing doctored pitches giving the home side an undue advantage over the opposition, the BCCI’s technical committee led by former Indian skipper and current president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) Sourav Ganguly, had recommended the matches of the 2016-17 season to be played at neutral venues.

The decision was ratified during a special body meeting of the BCCI held on May 29, with the view that players will also get better exposure playing on different kinds of surfaces. The move divided opinions with many Ranji coaches already having their say on the matter.

"Apart from not having the home-crowd advantage and the home-pitch advantage, I don't see anything wrong in that," Karnataka’s coach J Arun Kumar said on the matter. "There have been a lot of problems in the past with home-team advantage [resulting in] very bad wickets. Not having crowd support is the only setback but otherwise, I think it's a very fair move."

Assam coach Sanath Kumar disagreed with the decision along with former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif criticising the decision.

"I don't think anybody will now come and watch. [Playing games at home meant] at least a few fans will come and support the team," Kumar said. "It will be like a knockout match where hardly anybody is watching the game. Instead of this recommendation, they could have had a [neutral] curator to prepare the pitches. That would have been an easier solution."

Delhi, who failed to qualify for the quarterfinal stages of the tournament in the 2015-16 season, however, welcomed the move, with their new coach confident about their prospects for the upcoming season.

Bhaskar in an interview with The Times of India said, "Most of the cricketers have played in most of the venues where Delhi are scheduled to play. They know the conditions and it won't make much of a difference to a team like Delhi,"

"The main thing about playing at a neutral venue is to adapt to the situation. We expect the venues to be sporting tracks with decent grass cover. Teams which have depth don't need to worry much about neutral venues. There is a plenty of talent in Delhi and the squad looks quite strong. The average age is in the mid-twenties."

Delhi will kick off their 2016-17 Ranji Trophy campaign with their match against Assam to be held at Baroda from October 6.