Harsh reality of India’s first class cricket

THE LIFE OF A DOMESTIC PLAYER ISN’T THAT GOOD. WITH TOO MANY CHASING TOO FEW SLOTS, SURVIVAL IS TOUGH. FAILURE RATE IS HIGH AND THOSE COMMITTING THEIR FUTURE TO CRICKET DO SO KNOWING THERE IS NO FALL BACK OPTION.

first-class structure is subverted and Ranji, a stepping stone for Test cricket, is now just a convenient ladder to reach IPL’S basket of goodies. Which is excellent for players but disastrous for cricket because the system throws up many Pandyas but no Pujara!

Any system resting on a foundation of cash is vulnerable to abuse and corruption. Already, whispers circulate in dressing rooms about cricket’s selection bazaar specially at the junior level and a grey economy growing at an impressive rate.

NOT SMART

Another concern, voiced by an experienced pro, is ignorance about training methods and fitness needs. Suddenly, everyone is building muscle and doing exercises unrelated to cricket requirements. Fashion is driving fitness and it’s no surprise that injuries have increased.

Not that all is wrong with first class cricket. Wickets are better because of BCCI’S neutral curators, there are more outright results with bowling attacks built round three medium pacers who bowl disciplined lines. But the larger question is about first class cricket itself: will Ranji be the nursery for developing cricket or a crutch for the T20 format?

BCCI has announced where they sit on this. It went unrepresented at the Ranji final as senior officials gave it a miss. The ~2 crore prize money for Vidharbha is less than the IPL contract of Varun Chakravarty (~8.4 crore) who has played one first class game to take one wicket @ 105 or of Prabhsimran Singh (~4.8 crores ) who is yet to play a match!

The writing is on the pitch!