The Ranji Trophy has entered the quarter-final stage and talk about it is not even a fraction of what it was for the last two rounds of group league matches. Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and other international stars are back in the blue kit, and India’s countdown to the Champions Trophy has begun with the ODI series against England.
It’s not unusual. Thousands at the stadium to see Kohli play for Delhi and the media on red alert in Mumbai for Rohit’s return to the domestic fold was an exception. Players, coaches, selectors and everybody else involved with Ranji Trophy know that this massive operation will be carried out before empty stands and away from public attention. It’s good if the stars turn up when possible, but the tournament doesn’t get devalued in their absence. The domestic circuit is still the gateway to India selection and IPL contracts. Those who play make sure that there is no let-up in intensity.
Mumbai will not have as many cameras following them as when Rohit played against Jammu & Kashmir at Bandra-Kurla Complex. But the team led by Ajinkya Rahane meeting Haryana at Eden Gardens will have Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube and Shardul Thakur. The defending champions will be tested by an effective seam-bowling unit spearheaded by Anshul Kamboj. J&K face Kerala in Pune, Tamil Nadu take on Vidarbha in Nagpur, while Saurashtra host Gujarat in Rajkot in the other shootouts.
“Mumbai, Haryana and Saurashtra appear to be stronger,” Bengal captain Anustup Majumdar told RevSportz. “This is not to say that the others are far behind. Mumbai play a different game when they are in the knockouts. They keep finding ways of coming back. Haryana’s pace attack should get assistance from the track. It favoured seamers in the last game we played (against Punjab) and other than Kamboj, they have decent options.”
Majumdar’s Bengal team lost to Haryana in the penultimate league game in Kalyani, near Kolkata, where the conditions assisted medium-pacers. “Saurashtra won the title twice in the last four seasons and we were the losing finalists on both occasions,” noted Majumdar, who earned a name for himself for hitting hundreds for Bengal in a crisis over the last few seasons. “They are a balanced side with a lot of bases covered. Among others, Vidarbha (who qualified for the quarters with maximum points out of 32 teams — 40 — from the group stage) are a good unit. They were runners-up last year. Their attack has changed of late. Instead of spinners, they are relying on medium-pacers. This is a new-look Tamil Nadu team with some good players. They have not done well in Ranji knockouts in the last few years.”
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Domestic cricket is not as insignificant as it seems from a distance. Players earn around Rs 20-25 lakhs a season if they play three formats. Those with 1-20 matches under their belt get Rs 40,000 for one day of play. Cricketers in the 21-40 and 40-plus brackets earn Rs 50,000 and 60,000, respectively. Live coverage has been another plus. Even if there is nobody at the grounds, fans, relatives and friends of the players, media and others can watch the proceedings if they want. Ranji Trophy doesn’t need big names to stay relevant. The fraternity knows its significance.
“Stars turning up for state teams is always welcome,” felt Majumdar. “Younger players learn from them. They attract fans to the venues and every cricketer wants to play in front of spectators. We recently saw that some of the India players took part in a round or two of Ranji games. But will they do it if there is no directive? There are players who skipped these fixtures in the past even when they were available. Cheteshwar Pujara played the Ranji final (2019-20) against us with fever, days after returning from New Zealand. How many India players are willing to do this?”
Three months before he turns 41, Majumdar is one of the players who have stayed committed to the toil away from the spotlight for 20 years despite knowing that he will not be in the national reckoning. He played for India A in 2012-13 and had brief IPL stints with Kolkata Knight Riders and Pune Warriors. Things went south after that and it took Majumdar a while to re-establish himself in the role of a saviour. That was pivotal in Bengal reaching the final, semi-final and final in three seasons.
“Performance in domestic cricket gets undervalued when it comes to certain players,” said Majumdar. “When you see Abhimanyu Easwaran not getting a break in the Test XI in the absence of the first-choice openers, despite being in the squad, it feels bad. He has scored tonnes of first-class runs. Karun Nair is an established player who had a scintillating Vijay Hazare Trophy. What do they do? Wait for another year to prove their worth again. That’s why I think that domestic performance gets overlooked at times.”
Majumdar has no intention of calling it quits immediately. He will play the Bengal Premier League T20 event in June and then take a call depending on how the body reacts. But he will not be detached from what he loves. He has completed a Level 2 degree in coaching and he wants to be in attendance when Mumbai take on Haryana at Eden Gardens.
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