Hindustan Times (Delhi)

India’s current domestic circuit: Large on scale, low on quality

- Views expressed are personal.

THE QUALITY TOO SUFFERS. TRACKS ARE EITHER TOTALLY BATTINGFRI­ENDLY OR WRETCHEDLY UNDERPREPA­RED.

numbers, is uncompetit­ive and allows mediocrity to flourish. That’s not to deny progress, however slow, as teams are ‘profession­al’ and pre-season training a serious affair.

States hold matches to select ‘probables’ who are put in ‘camps’. They are then sent to participat­e in the KSCA, Buchi Babu and Moin-ud-Dowlah red ball tournament­s to get matchfit. Most teams travel with full time coaches, physios, trainers, masseurs and video analysts.

Fielding is sharp as cricketers are fit and athletic. Batting is aggressive because of T20 cricket; bowling led by three discipline­d medium pace bowlers.

Ultimately, cricket is about players. Each one, whether the veteran Devendra Bundela (40, captain of Madhya Pradesh), or a youngster is chasing a personal dream. Some play for pride, others for getting an IPL contract or representi­ng India.

In this tough quest, only a handful succeed. In 86 years, since CK Nayudu’s team first played Test cricket down to Hardik Pandya this July, only 289 lucky players have represente­d India.

With no regular job, no financial security, no guaranteed wages, the status of a Ranji cricketer is no better than that of a daily wage earner.

Yet, he plays cricket. Some say he plays a bigger game by staking his life on a future that is frightenin­gly uncertain.

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