No change in Ranji format

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No change in Ranji format Principal Correspondent Pandove justifies move Five points for Ranji victory CRUCIAL MEET: Sunil Gavaskar (right) and the BCCI Secretary Niranjan Shah during a meeting to select the Indian coach. — PHOTO: AP Bangalore: The continuance of the existing Ranji Trophy format, a marginal difference in the points allocation and the rescheduling of the Duleep Trophy tournament after the Ranji season are some of the key proposals that emerged from the BCCI's Technical Committee meeting at the National Cricket Academy here on Monday. Review likely "The committee has decided to continue with the current format of the Ranji Trophy as it will not be fair to the teams if we change the format in the current year. Maybe at the end of this season, we will review the format and arrive at a decision and then inform the teams in advance," Niranjan Shah, the BCCI Secretary, told the media. It may be recalled that there was a proposal to shrink the Ranji Trophy's Elite Division to just 10 teams from the existing 15. The technical committee meeting chaired by Sunil Gavaskar discussed the idea before putting it on the backburner for the time being. The BCCI joint secretary, M.P. Pandove, justified the move to maintain status quo. "Yes there was the proposal to reduce the Elite Division to just 10 teams but we thought it would be unfair to the bottom-placed five teams last year as there has to be a prior intimation of format change. So we thought we would keep it a level-playing field this year by retaining the current format and we also thought of taking a decision on whether the format has to be changed in terms of decrease or increase in teams at the end of the year," Mr. Pandove said. Niranjan Shah also announced a change in points allocation in domestic cricket. As per the proposal a team that wins outright will now get five points, one bonus point for an innings or a 10-wicket victory, three points for gaining first innings lead, one for a draw despite conceding the lead and zero for an outright defeat. Earlier it was four for victory, one bonus, two for first innings lead and no points for a draw after conceding the lead and also for a defeat. The committee also decided to play the Duleep Trophy after the Ranji season. "Earlier we used to have the Duleep Trophy in October but it has to be played after the Ranji season," Mr. Pandove said. The Selection Committee chairman, Dilip Vengsarkar, along with the BCCI Treasurer, N. Srinivasan, were among other officials who attended the meeting. The proposals have to be ratified at the BCCI Working Committee meeting in New Delhi on June 12. Meeting begins Meanwhile, the BCCI Search Committee began its meeting to find a new coach for the Indian team. The Committee meeting, which began at 8.30 p.m., was chaired by BCCI President Sharad Pawar and has three former captains S. Venkatraghavan, Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri.