Has Ranji Trophy experience lost its relevance?

[marc71178]

Originally Posted by Arjun

They've been contemplating dropping Morgan, then Bopara, for the fifth bowler. Bopara is no slouch with the ball either- puts his hand up for bowling duty, unlike any Indian batsman.

No, they haven't. The media have kept trying to suggest they should, but the selectors have never seriously thought it.

Originally Posted by Arjun

I'd like to know an England fan's opinion on how much county (or non-Test) experience matters when they assemble a team for England. Most England players have loads of domestic/reserves experience, although some, like Cook, made their England debut three years after their FC debut. The only exception is Stuart Broad, who's still played less than fifty non-Test FC games, or James Anderson, a clear example of a youth player rushed into the frontline- but he still has serious FC experience outside Tests, unlike some Indian players eight years into representing the country.

That's a direct result of 16 FC games a year, even someone like Taylor will be relatively experienced at a young age when he finally makes his debut.

Personally I'd place far more relevance on the Lions than County Championship results, but I've long said that I don't feel a successful county cricketer should be called up just on his figures.

[Arjun]

Originally Posted by marc71178

That's a direct result of 16 FC games a year, even someone like Taylor will be relatively experienced at a young age when he finally makes his debut.

Personally I'd place far more relevance on the Lions than County Championship results, but I've long said that I don't feel a successful county cricketer should be called up just on his figures.

Here in India, a top Ranji player in a team that goes the distance will eventually get a maximum of twelve FC games, taking into account his team making the finals of Ranji and Duleep, and him making the Irani squad as well.

While A-team experience is also important, it's best suited for those who are young and have barely finished a few seasons of domestic cricket. Older players who've done it already should be considered for Board XI selection, or on the bench in Tests and active in tour games, or playing in an overseas league. Unfortunately, the India A team (counterpart of the Lions) is often plagued with selectoral blunders, and some tokenism also exists- clear example in the son of a BCCI office-bearer making the squad.

[Arjun]

Looking at three successive Ranji seasons, you'll find that there's a very strong top six you can create with the top players here. Badrinath, Rahane and Rohit Sharma have bossed the last two seasons and had it good in the one before too. Jaffer and Dhawan have done well in these seasons and would make competent openers. For the wicketkeeper, you've got options in Dinesh Karthik and Robin Uthappa, who's recently taken to wicketkeeping. All fo them have recent form and FC experience on their side.

The bowling, though, is a bit dicey. We have one-season wonders doing well lately, then vanishing in the next season. I'm not too enthusiastic ofIqbal Abdulla, Bharghav Bhatt, Mithun and Unadkat being India bowlers at all. Among the longer-lasting ones, you have Ashwin, Vinay Kumar, Murali Kartik, Pankaj Singh (last season), Irfan Pathan (pre-2010 injury), Praveen Kumar, Joginder Sharma (taking his Tier-II form to Tier-I) and a whole lot of top bowlers having just one good season and two decent ones to round off three good seasons. To confuse matters a little, you have Yusuf Pathan, who's only had top-20 records in batting and bowling, but striking a neat balance. Of these, while Praveen and Ashwin are India prospects, they've not played so much. While the top six of a Ranji/Duleep XI is strong, and you can get some good balance, the bowling lineup isn't so steady.

There's not much consistency in the bowling stats, as there's been the effect of national duty, teams getting knocked out or just plain injury in the last three seasons. While I would prefer players picked between ages 25-35 and over 50 (or even 60) FC matches, I'm not at all enthusiastic about JP Yadav being in the fray- he should have been in five years ago, but he's past it now.

[Arjun]

Now Rahane, Tiwary and Badrinath- three Ranji performers, make the Indian ODI squad. Something's going right here.

Then again, look at who's winning the titles, and you'll find three out of five going to Mumbai. Yet Mumbai are barely represented in the Indian team, while plenty of players from Delhi/UP, and even a few from one-semi wonders seem to make it. Maybe there's something to think about here.

[Arjun]

Has the IPL made the Ranji Trophy and other domestic events (not counting the silly SMAT20 and Challenger trophies) irrelevant? Let's look at it.

The IPL is still largely T20. That's not proper cricket, and demands a completely different skill set. Then again, the players who play in the IPL are top international players, while you don't even get top Indian players in the Ranji Trophy. The pitches make little difference, but there's little to no awareness of what's necessary at the top. You have bowler-friendly pitches that help someone like sub-120k JP Yadav run through batting sides, when better bowlers get smashed in the IPL. Several top Ranji players struggle in the IPL, and also at the international level. However, the IPL is also very long and you have either a lot of clustered games or wide gaps. The IPL should be tapped so that domestic players are used to facing top internationals, while the Ranji Trophy will take care of five-day skills and also long-term match fitness. The BCCI has done nothing to tap the potential of the IPL, gleefully exploited by the Australians, who have built a second and future line here.

Then there's this Pujara-mania. Why do people keep calling for (just) his inclusion at the drop of a hat? You have Badrinath, who's played twice as many with a massive average. You have Rahane, who's won titles for Mumbai in first-class cricket. You have old hands like Mazumdar and Manhas, as well as Jaffer to open. All of them are a lot more accomplished than Pujara. There's also Tiwary, who's as good as Pujara, and has a very good conversion rate- thirteen centuries and ten fifties- in over sixty FC games. While Pujara isn't a poor choice as certain IPL stereotypes, Badrinath, Rahane and Mazumdar should be in ahead, while Tiwary is also an alternative. If technique is an issue, you have a coach and the BCCI can call upon anyone they please to sort it out- like they did before they became this monstrously rich board.