In the 2016-17 domestic season, the Ranji Trophy will be played on neutral venues for the first time. The hard-fought first-class tournament has had the knock-out matches played at neutral venues in earlier editions. While the new format will throw up new challenges, it would also bring more excitement into the game, believed several captains while speaking to BCCI.TV ahead of the season.
“First-class cricket is all about facing challenges and overcoming them, and that’s how we are going to approach it,” said Mumbai captain, Aditya Tare.
Discussing what lies ahead, Tare said, “It’s a new challenge and adds a new element to the tournament because neither of the teams would know how the pitch is going to play (or the conditions). It will be a challenge starting from the selection process. You have to be prepared for any type of wicket. Also, every squad has to be well equipped in all departments. So that’s a great thing that has been added. It’s going to throw up a new challenge for every team. It will be exciting to see how it unfolds.”
Speaking about the prospect, Uttar Pradesh captain and India all-rounder, Suresh Raina said, “I think, it’s about giving a lot of popularity to Test cricket (since it’s a multi-day game). It hasn’t happened before. Imagine UP vs Mumbai in Goa. (However) we will see over the course of time how teams adapt to the challenges of wickets etc. and how the crowd responds.”
Speaking about the crucial aspects that will have to be kept in mind as they anticipate and prepare for the season, he said “I have been playing for UP, India, India ‘A’. I think it’s about managing the travel; how you are going to face and adapt to the conditions. We have to see the ground first (and then we can prepare accordingly). We have to see our schedule first and then accordingly we have to have couple of sessions. We can then figure out what’s best for the team what we can do on particular ground. Once we know the schedule for the season then we can make up our mind and then we can plan better as the season approaches and practice accordingly.”
Discussing the impact on a team’s composition he added, “We used to play with three fast bowlers, one all-rounder and two spinners including me, (but) imagine if we are playing somewhere in Himachal against Goa then we have to see how we plan the composition and you know will know after practice only.
“A good thing for us due to the neutral venue is that in November-December when we played here (in North) there would be delays and days lost due to the weather, which might not happen now. We can get full days of play and results would be possible,” the left-handed all-rounder added.
“It will be challenging and it will be very exciting to see how everyone manages it. We will have to do it very professionally and be focussed,” Raina said while remarking that one can’t comment on much until the season starts, but it would definitely have positives coming of it as well.
Bengal captain, Manoj Tiwary observed, “As a captain, as a team one won’t be familiar with the conditions like you are when you are playing at home venues, so you would want to prepare accordingly. The preparation has to be very precise on the skills required for the batsmen and bowlers. I would always want our team to focus on our strengths more than factors which are not in our control. So ideally we would look to further strengthen our strong areas and focus on how we want to play as a team. We have to prepare keeping those things in mind and expect the unexpected.
“Until last season, we knew what conditions to expect because of the home and away pattern so the team would be picked accordingly. In that, we would pick only one extra batsman or pacer or spinner (depending on the venue), now we have to make sure that we carry an extra player in each department - specialist extra players - opener, middle-order batsman, fast bowler,” he explained.
Agreeing with his counterparts, S Badrinath, the former Tamil Nadu cricketer who has led Vidarbha into the knock-outs said, “All departments of the game will be tested now.
“Earlier, teams were playing to their strengths now it would be different and one will have to prepare for all eventualities. Even the batsmen will have to acclimatize to the different conditions and different situations. Earlier the home conditions were known, (now) there is the ‘X’ factor as you are not sure of what you are going to get. Teams will have to be well prepared for the ‘X’ factor in all departments. Players will have to get out of their comfort zone and you have to have a balanced team to be able to through to the next round of the tournament. A lot of thought will have to go into making a balanced side which should cover all bases in all departments,” elaborated the senior campaigner.
Madhya Pradesh captain, Devendra Bundela, too echoed the thoughts of his opposite numbers that a well balanced squad will have to be picked and prepared while saying, “Teams will have to be more cautious and adapt to the conditions very quickly and go about it professionally. One will have to pick a balanced squad but you can’t strategize in advance (since some factors are still unknown).
While mentioning that experience will help and seniors can guide, Bundela stated that “These days everyone is playing a lot of cricket and in different tournaments like the IPL etc so youngsters too have an idea about most venues. There would be only few venues where one might not have played. But it will be a challenge nevertheless.”
The 2015-16 finalists, Saurashtra’s skipper, Jaydev Shah added, “We will have to keep ourselves fit because there will be a lot of travelling and that will be the most important thing. We will have to be focussed during preparation. We will have to keep a bigger squad since we will be travelling and prepare more.” Like his peers, Shah too mentioned that teams will miss playing at home as they look forward to the new prospect.
Tamil Nadu captain, Abhinav Mukund too said, “First we have to figure out where we are playing. Right now we can’t decide anything because the fixtures aren’t out yet, but it’s going to be a really big challenge because we are going to be playing on different types of wickets and the home advantage is completely nullified.”
He further observed, “Because it’s a fairly new format I think the team that adapts the fastest will definitely be ahead of the game. Considering that our team has played a lot of cricket away, it is quite experienced which is good for us in a way that we will be slightly more experienced than the other teams.”
Like Raina, Mukund too mentioned that playing outside their home state would be a positive due to the weather. “Monsoon affects us every year as 2-3 games go off which is sad. This time considering its neutral venues, we won’t be missing (out on) games this year.”
Assam captain, Gokul Sharma stated that it will be a good contest with both sides having advantages and disadvantages. As teams look to counter the challenges, Assam are taking a step in the direction. “Since we are playing at neutral venues for the first time, it is important to prepare well, so we are going outside (Assam) for preparation. We are going to Bengaluru next month. We will be practicing there and playing some practice matches and also hold camps of around 10-20 days,” he said.
