Uttarakhand set to make its Ranji debut 18 years after formation
The north Indian state of Uttarakhand is finally set to make its Ranji Trophy debut, bringing to an end an 18-year-long wait. This comes after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to form a nine-member ‘consensus committee’ to oversee the state’s domestic debut in the upcoming season.
The north Indian state of Uttarakhand is finally set to make its Ranji Trophy debut, bringing to an end an 18-year-long wait. This comes after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to form a nine-member ‘consensus committee’ to oversee the state’s domestic debut in the upcoming season. The decision was taken at a BCCI meeting on Monday after which CoA chairman Vinod Rai said that Uttarakhand will be making its Ranji debut.
He said that the nine-member ‘consensus committee’ will include six members from different cricket associations in the state, one Uttarakhand government nominee as it currently owns the international stadium in Dehradun, and two BCCI nominees, including the recently retired Professor Ratnakar Shetty.
Uttarakhand was formed in November 2000 but is yet to field a side in country’s domestic competition largely due to the differences with the rival associations. However, Rai said that all parties have decided to keep their differences aside and start working towards one goal.
“They (all rival associations in Uttarakhand) have swept aside their differences to ensure that a team from Uttarakhand plays Ranji Trophy and other BCCI tournaments from the upcoming season. So, by consensus, a committee has been formed with BCCI nominees in it. It will start working from next week onwards,” he said.
CoA member Diana Edulji and BCCI CEO Rahul Johri were also part of the meeting.
The ‘consensus committee’ is expected to function for around for one year before a BCCI-recognised body is formed. A lack of BCCI affiliated association has hurt the cricketers in the state with many being forced to play for other states.
The BCCI technical committee had also recommended the inclusion of Bihar and northeastern states in the upcoming domestic season which means the number of teams competing in the Ranji Trophy could go up to 36.
The five northeastern states — Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Manipur, Nagaland and Meghalaya — have conveyed to the Supreme Court that they would like to field independent teams in the Ranji Trophy.
