Dharamsala, Mar 11:
Team India Coach Rahul Dravid said there is a need to see whether some of the tournaments are necessary to be conducted.
“Maybe we need to relook and see whether some of the tournaments that we are conducting are necessary in this day and age or they are not necessary. There needs to be an all-round review involving coaches and players, especially the guys who are part of the domestic circuit,” he told reporters after India’s win over England here yesterday.
Dravid was responding to a query revolving around Shardul Thakur’s comments that three-day gaps between Ranji games lead to injuries and hamper player recovery. Hence, there is a need to hear players going through the grind of hectic schedules, he said.
“I’ve heard the same as well. I saw some of the comments Shardul (Thakur), I think, made and, some of the new boys who’ve come into the team have said it as well.” “Some comment about how tough the domestic schedule is, especially in a country like India with the amount of travel involved. So yeah, we need to hear the players. That’s a very important thing in a lot of these things,” he said.
The Ranji Trophy that kickstarted in January has had players traveling across the country for matches with a gap of three days.
Ranji finalists Mumbai and Vidarbha, who are playing the final starting today, are playing as many as 10 first-class games in just over 10 weeks.
“You need to hear your players because they are the ones going through the grind and putting their bodies on the line; and if enough voices saying that, then yeah, I think there’s some need to look at it and see how we can manage our schedules. It’s a long season already in India. It’s tough,” he said.
Dravid said the best players who are pushing for selection for India are playing more days of cricket due to the hectic domestic schedule.
He said: “The Ranji Trophy is a long season … If I’m not mistaken, the Duleep started in June, it was just a month after the IPL – and your problem in this situation is your best players, the guys who are pushing for selection for India, are the ones that end up playing the most cricket because they keep getting selected at the next level more and more.” “And their teams are the ones probably who are playing the semi-finals and the finals, or that kind of situation. They are the ones who end up playing a lot of cricket, and you also want them to be playing for India and India A tours. So it can get quite tough on a lot of those boys, and maybe we need to hear them out,” he added
