
Finally a Halo has adorned Indian Domestic Cricket

By: Yajurvindra Singh
Email: sunnybilkha@hotmail.com
January 24th 2025:
There is a silver lining to Indian domestic cricket because of India’s downhill performance in the recently concluded Test series. To recognize one’s failure and trying to rectify it, is itself the best way to resolve the problematic issues.
The BCCI should be credited for making it mandatory for the Indian International players to play domestic cricket whenever they are free to do so. The outcome of not playing in it, could result in a player not being considered to play for the country which is a good carrot and stick bait.
The presence of the Indian stars in their respective Ranji Trophy sides, therefore, has brought an interest and a buzz into domestic cricket.
The crowds to watch the premier Indian tournament had dwindled to a few hundreds. At most times there were more players and support staff than spectators. The Mumbai versus Jammu and Kashmir match at the Sharad Pawar cricket ground at BKC had thousands flocking to watch it. In the present Delhi versus Railways Ranji Trophy encounter there are over 15,000 people watching it. The Indian cricket stars participation has brought about a tinge of spice into domestic cricket which the BCCI should consider seriously going forward. They need to, from the next season onwards, schedule the International matches in such a way that the Indian stars are available for several of the Ranji fixtures.
For Indian cricket to be considered as a top world cricket side, they need to be the best in the conventional form of the game, which is Test cricket. The only way for an Indian player to develop their skills, patience and mental approach and be successful is playing at the Test level is to play in the Ranji Trophy matches.
There are several other factors that also get highlighted with the presence of the Indian International cricket stars at these matches. The interaction with their fellow state level cricketers being one of them. The boost that a youngster gets by rubbing shoulders with an established senior cricketer is enormous. To observe and be in their presence is what drives one to emulate them.
I remember playing alongside Maharashtra’s godly cricket personality and captain when I debuted, the great Chandu Borde. As a youngster, I had watched him take India to a phenomenal win at the CCI in Mumbai against Australia in 1964. Thereafter, I watched his brilliant century against the West Indies at the same cricket center in 1966. To be on the field alongside him made me feel that I had accomplished a fair bit in cricket. The journey to the top for any cricketer aspiring to play for ones country is riddled with such tales.
The appearance of Virat Kohli to play for Delhi after nearly a decade is a good example of how a domestic side can be rekindled as a unit. Several of his team members were his mates when they played junior cricket. For Virat and for them, this was a great opportunity to interact with each other. The most wonderful journey for a cricketer is the time one spends with ones’ team members on the way up. For a batter it is the thousands of deliveries that his fellow bowler bowls tirelessly to him. Both deriving the maximum from one another. To have Virat back in the dressing room must have been a cherished moment for the Delhi side.
The most amazing thing where cricket is concerned is the unending support that a cricketer gets from ones teammates whether one does well or badly at the International level. Each one of them are there to help one in anyway they can. The pride and honesty that one sees in a fellow colleagues eyes when one plays for India makes one feel the pure joy of achievement. This is precisely what Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, K.L. Rahul and the other Indian cricketers would have felt when they once again stood shoulder to shoulder with their teammates.
This is where the importance of the players to play domestic cricket lies. It is not only the cricketers but also the curator and the ground staff, the unseen heroes of a cricketers success who benefit from it. The sweat that each one of them puts in to ensure that a cricketer gets a wicket to practice on and thereafter to succeed makes them an important a part of making a star.
The Indian domestic cricket scenario has truly received a big boost with the presence of their superstars. The limited overs cricket had blinded one from actually differentiating between a pedigreed cricketer and a run of the mill one. Unfortunately, the popularity of the shorter version of the game has brought the latter into prominence. For one to bowl 10 and 4 overs in short bursts or bat for a limited time does not bring out the essence of what cricket stands for. It is the longer version that requires skill, patience, grit, planning and immense mental and physical stamina to perform well and be consistent.
One feels that Indian cricket has finally woken up to understand this. The presence of their superstars in the domestic circuit is just a start. A wake-up call that should finally lead to Indian crickets progress at the highest level.
(Yajurvindra Singh is a former India cricketer. The views expressed are personal)