Former India captain and ex-president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Sourav Ganguly reasoned that youngsters can play red ball as well as white-ball domestic cricket.
In an interview to TOI, Sourav Ganguly said he is sure that ‘proper action’ will be taken by the BCCI who did not play Ranji Trophy in favour of preparing for the upcoming Indian Premier League.
“I think this is the first time that someone has not played or ignored red-ball domestic cricket. Otherwise, all of them have played Ranji Trophy when they were free. I am sure the BCCI will take proper action,” Sourav Ganguly was quoted as saying by TOI.
When asked about most domestic players not having the chance to play Test cricket for India and focus on white-ball matches for a look in the IPL, Ganguly said: “They can play both red-ball and white-ball. IPL career can happen along with stint in first-class cricket. They don’t clash. First-class cricket finishes and then there’s almost a month before the IPL starts. I don’t see any problem.”
“A lot of the top quality players play Test cricket and white-ball cricket. You look at Kohli, Rohit, Bumrah, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant. On the world stage, there’s Mitchell Marsh. He is Australia’s premier red-ball player now. Harry Brook plays red-ball cricket. David Warner played so much Test cricket but he was also one of the best white-ball players. Even in my days, Sachin, Rahul and myself played Test cricket and then played white-ball cricket. There’s no reason to say that you can play one and not the other,” he added.
Sourav Ganguly, who is the Delhi Capitals’ Director of Cricket, when asked about how much importance is given to Ranji Trophy performances by IPL sides, he said: “You look at everything. I am not saying you should only look at Ranji performances. You look at white-ball performances and then Ranji Trophy performances. What happens is that the Ranji Trophy season is two months long. And if you are out of the Ranji Trophy season and you finish your domestic season in the month of Nov or early Dec, then you are playing next in April. There’s too much gap between game time. The younger players cite workload management at the state level as well as a factor… Honestly, workload is only for fast bowlers. Why do batters need any workload management? I can understand Bumrah being rested. Jimmy Anderson has played over 160 Tests. What workload are you talking about at the start of your career? I still maintain that Indian cricket’s standard is superb.”
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