Duleep Trophy 2008-2009

[Chandan]

I'm just baffled to read this!! This is the only FC tournament which seems to have some quality and it has been reduced to a 4 match farce tournament! This season's Duleep Trophy will be played on a knock-out basis Cricinfo staff December 10, 2008 North Zone will not have to worry about any foreign team when they begin their title defence © Cricinfo Ltd No foreign team will participate in the Duleep Trophy this season. The concept, first applied in the 2003-04 season, has seen England A (twice), Sri Lanka A, Zimbabwe President's XI and Bangladesh A compete in India's zonal first-class tournament. With the Australian, New Zealand and South African domestic seasons clashing with that of India's, it was always going to be difficult for the BCCI to get foreign teams to play this year. However, the board clarified that the unwillingness to come was not due to security issues. "There are no issues at all about security or anything like that," Ratnakar Shetty, the BCCI's chief administrative officer, told Cricinfo. "We have not got confirmations from any team, and that is why we decided to go ahead." In the absence of a sixth team, this season's Duleep Trophy will be played on a knock-out basis. South Zone and Central Zone, the teams placed at the bottom of their respective groups last season, will play a qualifying match in Bangalore from January 22. The winner will take on defending champions North Zone in the first semi-final, while East Zone clash with West Zone in the second. The final, scheduled to begin on February 5, will be played in Chennai. There was a slight change made to the Ranji Trophy schedule as well. With the Champions League postponed indefinitely, the BCCI has decided to give some more breathing space between the knockout matches. Dates and itinerary: Central Zone v South Zone - Jan 22-25, 2009 East Zone v West Zone at Mumbai (BS) - Jan 29-Feb 1, 2009 North Zone v tbc - Jan 29-Feb 1, 2009 Final: - Feb 5-9, 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is the biggest farce in Indian cricket history till now!

[umpire]

Duleep Trophy 2008-2009 No foreign team this season. and it will be knock out tournament. Totally BS tournament if they make it knock out. Instead they could have made one India A team with promising players and competed against 5 zonal teams. Why BCCI? This year we have all the big stars playing and you have made it worthless tournament.

[msb1991]

Absolute joke - the Duleep Trophy simply must recieve more attention from the BCCI as the premier FC competition - the collection of the best players in India needs to be taken more seriously.

[umpire]

Just see full strength West Zone Rahane Jaffer Pujara Sachin Parthiv Y Pathan I Pathan S Trivedi D. Kulkarni Zaheer Khan Powar against North Zone Sehwag Gambhir Chopra Kohli Dhoni Yuvraj Bhajji Mishra Ishant Sangwan

[msb1991]

Superb teams! Not sure Sangwan will even get into North Zone though, tbh - he's had a poor season so far. Parvinder Awana has done far better for Delhi this year and may be a better choice.

[umpire]

actually Dhoni wil be in East Zone.

[Show_stopper]

Ridiculous!! What were the BCCI thinking?

[Dirty_South]

Absolute cr@p :mad: Brainless BCCI MCs

[msb1991]

Indeed, this is absolutely ridiculous - this is the gathering of the top domestic talent in India.

[Chandan]

Indeed' date=' this is absolutely ridiculous - this is the gathering of the top domestic talent in India.[/quote'] If the absence of a foreign team the only for reducing this tournament to a farce, why could we not choose a promising NCA XI to participate with the big boys as a sixth team? But is this the only reason? Duleep Trophy, a drowning glory C Rajshekhar Rao Monday, December 15, 2008 03:29 IST NEW DELHI: The Duleep Trophy tournament is supposed to be India’s premier domestic event, but somewhere down the line it seems to have lost its relevance in the present system. What used to be the real test for days’ cricket and a feeding line for Test matches now seems to be just another opportunity of match practice for players. Considering that it is an inter-zone tournament which sees the best fight it out as part of the five teams, it is not getting the importance it deserves at a time when players from the under-19 level and with a few good Ranji Trophy games come into national reckoning. The tournament has alternated between a knockout and league competition over the years. This year, the BCCI has reverted back to a its knockout format ostensibly because of the absence of a foreign team, even though none of the teams from abroad who have been invited for the championship since 2003-04 have ever won it. What does the tournament mean to players and officials? Is it being made full use of at a time when we need players to replace the likes of Anil Kumble, Sourav Ganguly and the lot in Test cricket? All-rounder Reetinder Sodhi, who has turned out in 18 one-day Internationals for India, feels Duleep Trophy stands out and should still be used to decide who gets to play in Test matches. “Players have always been desperate to get into the zonal side when they eye a berth in the Test team. After all, only the best players graduate to the Duleep Trophy from Ranji Trophy,†said Sodhi, who is now contracted with the Indian Cricket League (ICL). “It was a matter of pride to be selected for the tournament, especially when we were not close to getting a national call. I think these matches really test the quality of a player, and officials should keep an eye out for talent in this tournament,†said Sodhi, a prominent player on the domestic circuit with 69 first-class matches and also a regular member of zonal squads before his move to the ICL last year. Remembers former India wicketkeeper Surinder Khanna: “Playing in this tournament used to be a matter of prestige in the 1980s. But I don’t think we can blame the BCCI for this because the calendar is so cramped nowadays.†Khanna, who has been the coach and manager of teams on the domestic circuit and also of India A apart from his roles in talent search teams over the years, feels players get to learn a lot in this tournament. “Having it on a league basis, of course, gives more opportunities to players. Anyone who performs on a consistent basis in this tournament is sure to be amongst the best on the domestic circuit and deserves a chance,†said Khanna, who was Man of the Match in the inaugural Asia Cup at Sharjah in 1984. The Duleep Trophy tournament has lost its charm Either we continue with the league format or drop the tournament, writes Makrand Waingankar The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to convert the Duleep Trophy into a knockout tournament due to unavailability of an overseas team. This may attract a lot of criticism but if the BCCI were to ask majority of the state captains the view would be not to hold the tournament at all. To get rid of the weird selection process for picking a zonal team, the BCCI had asked the National selectors to pick the five teams but the experiment failed. The Duleep Trophy was introduced with an idea to have the top players from various zones play against each other. The quality missing in the inter-state matches was also evident in the inter-zonal Duleep Trophy matches played in front of the packed stands in 60s and 70s. Criterion for selection Performance in the Duleep Trophy would be considered a criterion for selection of the India team. There have been cases of players not doing well in the national championships but after getting a nod from the zonal selectors have done well to get selected for the Indian team. The BCCI felt that to pick the right combination of 15 they needed 75 performers from the states to play in the Duleep Trophy. There were regular instances of undeserved players getting selected for the zones with majority of the five selectors agreeing on a formula to push their boys. The rot continued and players who were good enough to play for the country were asked to carry drinks for the zone team. Lesser opportunities With all the top players of the country busy playing international matches, the Duleep Trophy has lost its charm and with the tournament being played on a knockout basis, there will be lesser opportunities for the second tier players. Either we continue with the league format or drop the tournament altogether. The selectors have the option of looking at the performances of the India A matches. The slot meant for the Duleep Trophy could be utilised for having additional India A series against tougher opposition. Those matches would be the right way to build the bench strength and not waste the slot giving opportunities to players who will never be on the radar of the national selectors. Another way to use the slot is to have inter-state T20 matches. India won the T20 World Championship (not World Cup) but there is no slot for the T20 domestic tournament. Need for rethink In fact the Programme and Fixtures Committee of the BCCI has to have a rethink on the number of tournaments and its schedule. Priority should be afforded to the national championships and three other tournaments by making the format result-oriented.

[msb1991]

Should we replace the Duleep Trophy with an India First XI Vs India Second XI series of two or three unofficial 'Tests' - something along those lines would be a most worthwhile experience for all involved.

[Chandan]

Should we replace the Duleep Trophy with an India First XI Vs India Second XI series of two or three unofficial 'Tests' - something along those lines would be a most worthwhile experience for all involved.

True. I don't think Duleep trophy in a knock out tournament is of much use. Why not bin it all together? Or make it the most important tournament of the season. What is the point in to-ing and fro-ing between having legues phase and then knock-out or starting it as a knock-out only, proving that the authorities have forgotten why the tournament was launched?

[msb1991]

Indeed - completely forgotten. It should either be binned or revamped to make it much longer. Tbh though, I am starting to like the 1st XI Vs 2nd XI match. if we were to have Indian First XI Vs Indian Second XI, what teams would you have? I'd be inclined to go with: 1st XI: 1. Sehwag 2. Gambhir 3. Dravid 4. Tendulkar 5. Laxman 6. Yuvraj 7. Dhoni 8. Harbhajan 9. Mishra 10. Zaheer 11. Ishant Vs 2nd XI: 1. Vijay 2. Jaffer 3. Mukund 4. Rahane 5. Badrinath 6. Pujara 7. Karthik (wk) 8. Jadeja 9. Parmar 10. Dhawal Kulkarni/Balaji/Dinda 11. Munaf Patel

[Feed]

SA umpire to officiate in Duleep trophy Domestic cricket will soon have an international flavour. More... SA umpire to officiate in Duleep trophy Vijay Tagore Wednesday, January 07, 2009 03:18 IST Domestic cricket will soon have an international flavour. Soon there will be foreign umpires in domestic competitions. The earliest will be the Duleep Trophy where a foreign umpire will officiate. This is an exercise aimed at improving the standard of umpiring in India and the quality of umpiring by Indians. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has a bilateral agreement in place with Cricket South Africa (CSA) already. It is soon going to have pacts with Cricket Australia and England and Wales Cricket Board as well. As part of its agreement with CSA, the BCCI had sent Suresh Shastri to South Africa. India’s international panel umpire was there for about two weeks during which he officiated in two four-day games involving about 14 players of Graeme Smith’s team. As a reciprocal arrangement, CSA will send umpire Marais Erasmus to officiate in the Duleep Trophy. Erasmus, an international panel umpire, would stand in one semifinal (January-end) and the final (early February) of the competition. “Our aim is to have an Indian in the ICC’s Elite Panel of umpires,” said Ratnakar Shetty, chief administrative officer of the BCCI. India has not had an umpire in the Elite Panel since the retirement of S Venkataraghavan in 2004 although there have been some in the international panel. Currently there are three — Amish Saheba and SK Tarapore besides Shastri. Venkataraghavan, incidentally, is a paid director of the BCCI umpires committee. A discussion on the quality of umpiring was held at the working committee meeting on Saturday and it was decided that the Board should send the umpires to officiate in England and Australia as well. From next year, two umpires will be sent and invited. “This is an important decision. I have come back with a very rich experience,” Shastri, now officiating in the Ranji semifinal in Nagpur, told DNA. “It is like India A team touring a country. You get exposure to the conditions of other countries before actually graduating to the international level.”

[Feed]

BCCI trying to find solution to selector issue The Indian cricket board is trying to hammer out an acceptable solution to the problem of possible dual representations from states in three of the five zones during the coming selection committee meetings for the Duleep Trophy tournament. More... BCCI trying to find solution to selector issue Kolkata, Jan 9 (IANS) The Indian cricket board is trying to hammer out an acceptable solution to the problem of possible dual representations from states in three of the five zones during the coming selection committee meetings for the Duleep Trophy tournament. Disclosing this to reporters here Thursday, president of Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) Jagmohan Dalmiya, however, ruled out any confrontation with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on the issue. "We will go by the BCCI decision," Dalmiya said. As per the new rules of the board, the national selectors from each of the five zones are nominated by the board. Earlier, the selection panel members from each zone were first nominated by the state, and in case of more than one candidate from a zone, the final selection was done through voting. The elected five were then named selection committee chiefs in their respective states and chaired zonal selection panel meetings for the Duleep Trophy as representatives of their states. But with the board changing the rules, in three of the zones a unique problem has risen. For instance in the CAB, while former state cricketer Raja Vankat was named selector from the East Zone, former Bengal Ranji Trophy captain Sambaran Banerjee was nominated chief selector of the state side. While, as per a BCCI directive, the national selector from the zone would chair the Duleep Trophy selection meeting, the CAB has decided to nominate Banerjee as its representative at the meeting. Thus, Venkat and Banerjee - both belonging to Bengal - are on a collision course on attending the East Zone Duleep Trophy meeting slated to be held Saturday. Similar problems exist in the South and West Zones. In South Zone, national selection committee chief Krishnamachari Srikkanth, who is from Tamil Nadu, finds that he has not been named to represent his home state Tamil Nadu. Similar is the predicament of national selector from West Zone Surendra Bhave, who is from Maharashtra. "There is some confusion. The matter came up for discussion at the last working committee meeting of the board. And it was decided that the board will come out with something on the issue urgently. We are awaiting the board decision," Dalmiya added.

[Chandan]

So finally BCCI clears the selectors' issue for Duleep Trophy. BCCI directive clears air on Duleep Trophy selection Kolkata, Jan 10 (IANS) The Indian cricket board has ruled that the national selector from a zone would chair meetings to pick Duleep Trophy teams even if there were two representatives from the zone at the meeting. Following that, national selection panel member from East Zone Raja Venkat Saturday chaired the Duleep Trophy team selection meeting from the zone, though Bengal was represented by the state’s chairman of selectors Sambaran Banerjee. With Venkat also from Bengal, there were for all practical purposes two representatives from the state in the meeting at Guwahati that chose Shiv Sundar Das of Orissa as the East Zone skipper. Das’s statemate Rashmi Ranjan Parida was named his deputy. Venkat, however, claimed that the problem of dual representation did not arise. “Things were very peaceful in the meeting. The problem of dual representation didn’t arise as the Board had already issued directives to allow the BCCI-appointed selector to chair the meeting. And the selections were unanimous,†Venkat said. Utpal Chatterjee was appointed coach. Chatterjee had been pulled up by the Jagmohan Dalmiya-led Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) for making “irresponsible public comments†in the run-up to Bengal’s Ranji Trophy super league quarter final against Tamil Nadu. Five players each from Bengal and Orissa, two each from Assam and Tripura and one from Jharkhand figure in the 15-member squad. East Zone play their lung opener against West Zone in Mumbai Jan 29. Mohanty, Shukla dropped from East Zone Guwahati, Jan 10: Former India opener Shib Sundar Das would lead East Zone challenge in Duleep Trophy as the zonal selectors today announced a 15-member squad here today. East Zone selectors, headed by Raja Venkat, named middle-order batsman Rashmi Ranjan Parida, who represents Assam, as the vice-captain with the notable omission of former India medium-pacer Debashish Mohanty and Bengal Ranji captain Laxmi Ratan Shukla. Incidentally, Debashish and Basant were the two highest wicket takers for Orissa in the Ranji Trophy Super League campaign. The duo have scalped 28 wickets each from seven matches. The side has four players from Orissa which include wicketkeeper Haladhar Das, medium-pacer Basant Mohanty and all rounder Niranjan Behera. Expressing disappointment over senior pro Mohanty's omission, Orissa Cricket Association (OCA) Secretary Ashirbad Behera said, "It's good that we have four players in the squad. However, Debashish should have been in the side. He did pretty well in Ranji Trophy this season." The squad includes five from Bengal with wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha named as a batsman. Bengal strike bowlers Ranadeb Bose and Ashok Dinda would look after the pace department, while the side has stylish middle-order batsman Manoj Tiwary and Dibyendu Chakraborty. Bengal's Utpal Chatterjee has been named the coach. The selection saw dual representation from Bengal who had Venkat (East Zone selector) and Sambaran Banerjee in the panel. Dhoni left out of East Zone's Duleep opener Cricinfo staff January 11, 2009 Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be included in the squad if he confirms his availability, Raja Venkat said. © AFP Unable to get in touch with Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the East Zone selectors decided to leave him from the Duleep Trophy squad for the game against West Zone, starting from January 29 in Mumbai. However, Raja Venkat, the East Zone selection panel chief, has said Dhoni will be added to the squad straightaway if he makes him available. Dhoni, who is reportedly holidaying in Coorg, did not respond attempts by the selectors to contact him. Shiv Sunder Das, the Orissa opener, will lead the team. "I sent him a message on January 7 or 8 informing him about the selection meeting for the Duleep Trophy and asked him to call back to confirm his availability," Venkat, who is also a member of the national selection panel, told Cricinfo. According to him, his colleague Jodh Singh, the Jharkhand selector, sent a similar message, but he too did not get a reply. Venkat, though, denied that there was a question-mark over Dhoni's inclusion. "A player of his calibre can walk into any team. It will be a motivation for the youngsters also if he plays." The Duleep Trophy competition is scheduled to begin on January 22 and end on February 9. It is the last domestic tournament ahead of India's tour of New Zealand. East Zone squad against West Zone: Shiv Sunder Das (capt), RR Parida, Manoj Tiwary, Wriddhiman Saha, Ashok Dinda, Ranadeb Bose, Dibyendu Chakrabarty, Niranjan Behera, Basanth Mohanty, Haladhar Das (wk), Anand Katti, Krishna Das, Saurabh Tiwary, Tushar Saha, Jayanta Debnath. ************************************************* It is almost unbelievable that selectors had to leave Dhoni out because they couldn't contact him!! One day if they are unable to contact him before an ODI series, will they leave him out?

[zubinpepsi]

Unable to get in touch with Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the East Zone selectors decided to leave him from the Duleep Trophy squad for the game against West Zone, starting from January 29 in Mumbai. However, Raja Venkat, the East Zone selection panel chief, has said Dhoni will be added to the squad straightaway if he makes him available. Dhoni, who is reportedly holidaying in Coorg, did not respond attempts by the selectors to contact him. Shiv Sunder Das, the Orissa opener, will lead the team. ************************************************* It is almost unbelievable that selectors had to leave Dhoni out because they couldn't contact him!! One day if they are unable to contact him before an ODI series, will they leave him out?

so wat do u want them to do??

"I sent him a message on January 7 or 8 informing him about the selection meeting for the Duleep Trophy and asked him to call back to confirm his availability," Venkat, who is also a member of the national selection panel, told Cricinfo. According to him, his colleague Jodh Singh, the Jharkhand selector, sent a similar message, but he too did not get a reply. Venkat, though, denied that there was a question-mark over Dhoni's inclusion. "A player of his calibre can walk into any team. It will be a motivation for the youngsters also if he plays."

i wonder wat else they can do..

[Chandan]

so wat do u want them to do??

Name him in the squad unless he makes himself unavailble officially. He is a contracted player of BCCI and Dhoni knows that very well. The selectors know it too. In fact everyone knows it. This is a rare occasion when Indian players get to play domestic cricket. The selectors should try everything to not let this opportunity go waste!!

[zubinpepsi]

they r jus givin him a superstar treatment.. askin him his interest.. they dont think they can force him to play domestic matches...

[Chandan]

Some Duleep Trophy news: North Zone Chopra to lead NZ in Duleep NEW DELHI: Aakash Chopra will lead North Zone in Duleep Trophy. The North Zone selection committee, headed by Yashpal Sharma, met in Chandigarh on January 17 to pick the 16member squad. The originally picked squad was changed slightly after Indian team to Sri Lanka was named on Sunday. Mithun Manhas, said a DDCA official, missed out as Virat Kohli didn’t find a place in the Indian squad. Sunny Sohal, on the other hand, managed a look-in in place of Yuvraj Singh. SQUAD: A Chopra (captain), R Dewan, V Kohli, S Dhawan, S Sohal, Sangram Singh, Sarandeep Singh, R Bhatia, A Kakkar, U Kaul, A Mishra, C Nanda, P Awana, M Goni, V.S. Malik, S Beigh. Standbyes: R Inder, Gagandeep, Y Singh and Sunny Singh. _______________________________________________ Never knew that NZ had this non existent pace attack!! Where on earth has VRV Singh disappeared? Nevertheless, J&K celebrates the inclusion of its player in north zone's Duleep Trophy squad. Samiullah in North Zone team for Duleep Trophy ABID KHAN Srinagar, Jan 17: Speedster Samiullah Beigh has been included in the North Zone team for the prestigious Duleep Trophy, which is scheduled from January 22. Without disclosing the names of players, the North Zone selection committee today said the squad would be led by Akash Chopra while as Amit Mishra has been chosen as vice-captain. The committee meeting was held at Chandigarh with Yashpal Sharma in chair and was attended by Chetan Chauhan, Sunil Dev and representatives of North Zone teams. The Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association was represented by its secretary Saleem Khan. Confirming Samiullah’s inclusion in the team, Saleem said, “It is matter of pride for the Valley us as the fast bowler has been selected second consecutive time for the tournamentâ€. “I hope he performs well and impresses national selectors,†he said. Saleem said the selectors have not announced the team yet. He said, “The committee was waiting for the announcement of Indian cricket team and was holding back the names of other players in the North Zone squadâ€. When contacted, the fast bowler expressed happiness over the selection. “It is great to see myself in the squad. I got a call from JKCA secretary today about the selection,†he said. Samiullah thanked the JKCA president, Dr Farooq Abdullah and secretary, Saleem Khan for their support. The speedster said his aim was to play for Team India and IPL. “I have performed up to my full potential in the Ranji Trophy†In the five Ranji Trophy matches this year, Samiullah took 25 wickets with two five-wicket hauls. Apart from bowling he has also contributed with bat and scored 61, 48, 44, 42, 40 and 33 in respective matches. The fast bowler also contributed to the JK team success against Haryana. He took nine wickets and scored 52 runs in the match. In last season, he took 24 wickets in five matches with two five-wicket hauls and scored 137 runs. In Ranji test matches, Sami has taken 49 wickets with an average of 4.9 wickets per match. Despite such brilliant performance, he was not picked for Zonal team. It was only after the JKCA intervention and pressure from cricket fraternity that he was selected for the team. This year, Duleep Trophy will be played on knockout basis. South Zone and Central Zone, the teams placed at the bottom of their respective groups last season, will play a qualifying match in Bangalore from January 22. The winner will take on defending champion North Zone in the first semi-final, while East Zone will clash with West Zone in the second match. The final, scheduled on February 5, will be played in Chennai. South Zone India middle order batsman V V S Laxman will lead the 15-member South Zone squad in the Duleep Trophy Cricket tournament, which will commence on January 22. More... Laxman to lead South Zone in Duleep Trophy Press Trust Of India Hyderabad, January 20, 2009 First Published: 11:30 IST(20/1/2009) Last Updated: 11:31 IST(20/1/2009) India middle order batsman V V S Laxman will lead the 15-member South Zone squad in the Duleep Trophy Cricket tournament, which will commence on January 22. Four cricketers, who have been selected from Hyderabad, include N Arjun Yadav, Pragyan Ojha and S Anoop Pai, a Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) release said on Monday. The matches of the tournament will be held at Bangalore, Rajkot and Chennai. Team: V V S Laxman (cap, Hyd), S Badrinath (v-cap, TN), Abhinav Mukund (TN), Robin Uthappa (Kar), Rahul Dravid (Kar), N Arjun Yadav (Hyd), Dinesh Karthik (Wicket-keeper, TN), R Ashwin (TN), Pragyan Ojha (Hyd), L Balaji (TN), S Sreesanth (Kerala), Vinay Kumar R (Kar), Saurav Bandekar (Goa), Suresh M (Andhra), S Anoop Pai (Hyd). Coach: B K Venkatesh Prasad (Kar).