With a Tweaked Format, Monetary Boost And Plenty of Hopes, Ranji Trophy Returns With a Full Season

It’s that time of the year again. The season of bright whites, shining red cherry, long hours under the sun, and an opportunity to take the next step. From the chilly north to the humid south, as many as 38 teams will battle it out over the next two months for the biggest prize in India’s domestic set-up – the Ranji Trophy.

The tournament returns to its full-fledged home-away format after ease in COVID-19 restrictions and a very competitive season awaits the top cricketers in the country. Ranji Trophy was held in a trimmed format – broken into two phases – last time around and the charm was missing as the number of matches were much fewer and the lack of continuity was not ideal.

There is a slight tweak in the format this time around as the BCCI has grouped teams into Elite and Plate categories and there would be two titles up for grabs. The clubbing of newer states into the Elite set-up came under heavy criticism during the recently concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy, and a lot more competitive action is expected in the Plate group featuring the new teams.

Read | Ishant Sharma likely to lose BCCI central contracts; Suryakumar, Gill set for promotion

The Elite category promises to be business as usual and quality cricket will be on offer starting December 13. The rise of Jammu and Kashmir and Assam in the white-ball circuit has only added more spice to the tournament.

The big boys eye return

Ajinkya Rahane for Mumbai, Ishant Sharma for Delhi, Mayank Agarwal for Karnataka and Hanuma Vihari for Andhra. Plenty of Indian players, out of the Test reckoning, for now, would look to put up a strong case when they turn up for their respective states. All of them featured in the white-ball competitions but didn’t really set the stage on fire. They now return to familiar territory and a format where they have enjoyed a lot of success in the Indian whites.

Rahane is leading Mumbai and would look to be amongst the runs to regain his place back in the Indian middle order. It remains to be seen how much Ishant plays as whispers in the DDCA corridors suggest the veteran seamer is not likely to feature in all games for Delhi. For the likes of Mayank and Vihari, who are leading Karnataka and Andhra respectively, it would be about scoring those big runs and finding their way back into the Indian set-up.

Ranji trophy!