In the wake of objections raised by the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) and Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA), the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is set to revoke its initial stance of rescheduling the Ranji Trophy match between Gujarat and Bengal as well as the contest between Hyderabad and Tripura that were called off due to smog in Delhi in the first week of November.
“The Technical Committee of the BCCI recognised the extraordinary circumstances prevailing in Delhi and decided to reschedule the Ranji Trophy 2016-17 fifth round matches between Hyderabad-Tripura and Gujarat-Bengal after the first two days of play were lost due to smog conditions in New Delhi,” BCCI secretary Ajay Shirke had said in a media statement on November 6
While the BCCI was planning to hold the matches at the end of the scheduled league stage from December 15 to 18, MCA and TNCA raised objections citing that having the matches in hand at such a late stage in the tournament would provide an undue advantage to the teams involved. Many other state associations also questioned how the matches that had been officially called off by the match referee on the second day of the scheduled four-day match could be replayed.
According to the playing conditions stipulated by the BCCI for Ranji Trophy matches, should a match be called off with either of the two teams failing to register a first innings advantage, both teams will be awarded one point each. The above rule holds good when the interruption(s) is caused due to weather or otherwise. As such, the chances of the matches in question being replayed looks remote.
During a meeting of all the BCCI affiliates in New Delhi on Friday, a decision was made to let the senior tournament committee of the BCCIwhich includes BCCI vice-president Gautam Roy as chairman, representatives of Haryana, Goa, Odisha, Baroda and Uttar Pradesh cricket associations, and secretary Ajay Shirke as the convener make a final call on the matter.
The official announcement has now been made with the BCCI hopeful of avoiding any further controversy over the matter.
BCCI secretaryAjay Shirke, however, seemed to lay blame on the match referees involved in the two matches questioning the reasoning behind calling off the matches on Day 2 itself when there was a possibility that the smog could clear and play possible on the remaining two days of the match.
“It was a recommendation (by the technical committee) that was objected to and the final decision has been taken by the senior tournament committee,” Shirke told The Hindu. “The whole problem is related to the match referee’s decision to call off the match (on the second day).”
Meanwhile, the Ranji Trophy match which was scheduled to be held at Dindigul from December 7 between Odisha and Jharkhand from Wednesday (December 7) has been shifted out of the state and will be played at a later date owing to the prevailing security situation in the state following the death of former Chief Minister J Jayalalitha on Monday night.
