The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has recommended several proposals that are likely to be implemented during the upcoming domestic season.
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A day after announcing that the board is in search of India’s next all-format head coach, BCCI secretary Jay Shah has proposed a series of changes to domestic cricket, which have been submitted to the Apex Council for approval. Among the number of suggested modifications are the elimination of the toss in age-group domestic cricket, creating enough gaps between red-ball games and the introduction of a new points system.
Suggested BCCI changes for domestic cricket
Among one of the many suggested proposals is the removal of the toss in the CK Nayudu Trophy, an under-23 four-day competition. Instead, the visiting team will have the choice to decide whether they want to bowl or bat first, thus discarding the element of luck.
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The CK Nayudu Trophy might also get a new points system to promote balanced performances. In addition to points for taking a first innings lead or an outright win, points could be awarded to sides based on batting or bowling performances in the first innings. It could introduced in the Ranji Trophy as well.
The BCCI has also made a plan to create sufficient gaps during Ranji Trophy games after the demands of several players last season. Mumbai all-rounder Shardul Thakur stated it was tough to recover while playing four-day games because of mere three-day breaks between matches. In the note to the Apex Council, Shah writes: “There will be an increased gap between matches to allow players sufficient time for recovery and to maintain peak performance throughout the season.”
The BCCI is also likely to shift domestic game venues from states severely impacted by the cold weather and fog during the winter months. There are also plans to abandon the inter-zonal red-ball event this season.
In another decision that will impact women’s cricket, the national selectors will pick the squads for the inter-zonal events. “All Women’s Inter-zonal tournaments, including one-day, T20 and multi-day formats, will have teams selected by the national selectors,” Shah suggested.
