The Hindu : Sport : BCCI officials to meet Ranji captains, coaches

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 11, 2007
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BCCI officials to meet Ranji captains, coaches

Special Correspondent

Mumbai: Captains and coaches of the 27 Ranji Trophy teams will interact with the BCCI President Sharad Pawar and Technical Committee Chairman Sunil Gavaskar here on April 20.

The BCCI's proposed reduction in the number of teams in the Elite Group from 15 to 10 from the 2008-09 season has the backing of the Working Committee, but Pawar and Gavaskar would be eager to listen to the observations of the captains and coaches.

Gavaskar had recommended to the BCCI a few years ago that only 10 teams should figure in the Elite Group, but due to sufficient support from its full members, the top three teams from each of the five zones continued to play in the Elite Group.

A sore issue that's dominated such meetings in the recent past has been the quality of umpiring. Another topic of discussion will be the quality of SG balls.

`Revive tournaments'

Meanwhile, Sunil Gavaskar said Rohinton Baria Cup and Vizzy Trophy (all-India schools and all-India inter-university tournaments) was the supply line for Ranji Trophy teams during his time, and then from the Ranji Trophy one moved forward to play for India.

India's best schoolboy cricketer in the 1965-66 season, Gavaskar played against the London Schoolboys thereafter and for the All India Universities team four years later before being picked for India's tour of the West Indies under the Ajit Wadekar's captaincy.

Promoting school and university cricket was one of the topics discussed at the captains' meeting with the BCCI office bearers last Friday.

Gavaskar felt that the BCCI's junior tournaments from the under-15 to under-19 age groups had somewhat pushed the all-India schools and inter-university competitions to the background.

"BCCI has to encourage and assist the respective authorities to revive the schools and inter-university tournaments because this will provide more opportunities to the youngsters and widen the base of the talent pool that can be looked at."

Inter-zonal Twenty20

Punjab, which topped the North Zone leg, will meet Central Zone winner Railways in the opening match of Group A in the inter-State Twenty20 tournament at the Brabourne Stadium from April 15.

Group matches will be played at the Motera Stadium, Ahmedabad.

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