Ranji Trophy fees should be doubled or tripled to avoid pull-outs: Gavaskar Sunil

MUMBAI: The great Sunil Gavaskar has praised the BCCI’s move to give India’s players an extra incentive to play more Test matches. However, he has suggested that the BCCI increase the players’ fees for competing in the Ranji Trophy to “double or triple” in order to discourage pull-outs.
A few players have had their central contracts disallowed by the BCCI lately for not competing in the Ranji Trophy.

“I believe that when it was revealed at Dharamsala, India’s head coach, Rahul Dravid, said that he preferred to refer to it as a prize. The BCCI’s decision to reward the players is commendable, but I would also ask them to see to it that the Ranji Trophy, which serves as a feeder team for the Test squad, is also taken care of. There will undoubtedly be a lot more players participating in Ranji Trophy matches and a lot fewer pullouts if the entry costs are doubled or tripled. This is because fewer players would withdraw from Ranji Trophy matches for a variety of reasons if the payments were reasonable. “Every ten first-class matches, you get that much more, so I would request the BCCI to look at that aspect as well. They will all want to play with the slab system,” Gavaskar told reporters on Friday during the 25th anniversary celebrations of his foundation, ‘CHAMPS,’ which housed needy athletes.
Mumbai Raji
Gavaskar supported Shardul Thakur, an all-round fast bowler for Mumbai and India, when he said that in order to minimise player injuries, the Ranji Trophy should have a longer turnaround time between matches than it now has, which is three days.
“You need to have a circumstance, so that’s something to think about. During the three-day interval, there is most likely a day of travel in between. There isn’t time to see the physiotherapist when travelling to maybe receive his assistance in getting well from a niggle. Thus, it is likely that a little gap should exist so that the player has enough time, according to Gavaskar.
Gavaskar suggested that the Ranji Trophy be held from October to mid-December, allowing the players to use the January white-ball competitions as a training ground for the Indian Premier League.
“In my view, the Ranji Trophy should run from October through mid-December before the white-ball competitions begin. In this manner, everyone would be eligible to participate, with the exception of the players from India. There won’t be a valid reason to withdraw. “Those who are in the IPL can have enough practice from then on, as one-dayers start in January,” he said.