The Story
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is trying every bit to ensure competitiveness remains intact at the domestic level. The domestic cricket structure saw an overhaul last year when the cricket board announced the home-away system to counter the “home advantage” factor. The idea, however, failed to take off and the board had to move over it. But, this has not stopped them from initialising new methods.
Captain’s report back to ensure quality umpiring
The BCCI also decided to bring back captain’s report on umpiring and playing conditions after every match. A couple of seasons ago, the board had done away with the system citing biased complaints.
However, of late, there has been a surge in the number of faulty umpiring incidents which has provoked the board to rethink their stance. Eventually, the administrators have decided to give the captains power to report about the umpiring standards after each game.
“It is assumed that the umpires started to take things lightly as they knew no player was authorized to file an official complaint. It had to be checked,” a BCCI functionary close to the development told TOI on Wednesday.
It was earlier believed that the reports were driven by bias and didn’t reflect the exact scenario.
“There was a point that it seemed that the losing captain would give an extremely negative report. The aggrieved cricketers struggled to write a balanced report,” the official said.
The umpires now get easily spotted on television as most of all the Ranji matches are telecasted. Therefore, it has become easier to spot the umpiring howlers than ever.
Rescheduling of domestic calendar
The board is also mulling over the rescheduling of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 matches. Over the past two seasons, the shortest form of the tournament has been squeezed between Ranji Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy causing packed schedules for the players.
“Teams end up playing five back-to-back matches. Players have raised objections and it has been noted. This time the tournament will be planned accordingly,” a top BCCI office-bearer informed.