BCCI has declared that the squad size of each team in the Ranji Trophy should not exceed 30 members and there should be a minimum of 20 players in that contingent.
The Ranji Trophy 2021-22 season is all set to begin on February 17 and BCCI has allowed a squad size of 30 which includes a minimum of 20 players and a support staff of 10 members. The tournament was earlier scheduled to begin last month until the surge in Covid-19 cases throughout the country and among the players created a lot of panic which caused the BCCI to suspend the domestic tournament.
BCCI Allows A Squad Size Of 30 Including A Minimum Of 20 Cricketers And 10 Support Staff
However, the situation has bettered in the country and it left with choices to make for BCCI as they had to fit in the Ranji Trophy within the start of IPL which was always going to be difficult. It has been two years since the tournament was last conducted and the state associations were desperate to have the season back this time around.
“Accordingly, the number of support staff is capped at a total of 10,” the BCCI has told the state associations ahead of the Ranji Trophy which starts on February 17.
Concurrently, the BCCI is also allowing the states to carry two reserves in view of the pandemic situation.
“The teams are permitted to carry two extra players as COVID RESERVES. In case, where a Team India cricketer is deputed by the BCCI to participate in domestic cricket, he will be eligible for match fee over and above the 20 players based on his Playing XI and non-Playing XI status in the matches,” the BCCI wrote.
The BCCI has also provided a generic advisory on how the match fee can be disbursed. According to the board, out of the 20 members, the playing XI will be entitled to a full match fee of Rs 2.4 lakh each and the remaining nine will get 50 per cent of it.
BCCI released the guidelines to the state associations and it noted that there will be a quarantine of five days for the players. Also, the statement added that 20 players will be eligible for match fees (Playing XI will be eligible for 100 per cent while the remaining 9 will be entitled to 50 per cent). Two COVID reserves will be allowed per team which gives enough set of players to pick up from the squad even if the players test positive for Covid-19.
BCCI Stipulated Reporting Date For Each Ranji Team Is February 10
The BCCI has stipulated that the reporting date for each team is February 10 from when the squad will have five-day quarantine which will end on February 14. After practice for two days, the first-round matches will start on February 17. Nine centres – Cuttack, Rajkot, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Trivandrum, Delhi, Haryana, Guwahati and Kolkata — are hosting the matches of the two-phased tournament with the IPL in between.
Each team is allowed three league matches and the first phase ends with a pre-quarterfinal match between the lowest-ranked team in the Elite division and the highest-ranked side in Plate. The pre-quarterfinals will be held from March 12 to 16. Matches from the quarterfinals onwards will be held after the IPL – from May 30 to June 26.
Meanwhile, India Test veterans Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane have been added to their respective state sides for the upcoming Ranji season. Cheteshwar Pujara was named in the 21 member Saurashtra squad led by Jaydev Unadkat while Ajinkya Rahane will be playing for Mumbai under the leadership of Prithvi Shaw.
Everybody who was hoping to see Hardik Pandya prove his fitness in Ranji Trophy were left disappointed when it was announced that the 28-year-old all-rounder decided to give the tournament a miss, in order to focus on making his comeback to the Indian team in the white-ball format.