After the Indian team kicked off the tour of Australia last week, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has turned the attention to start the domestic campaign. Since the pandemic has eased in India, the state cricket boards were asked by BCCI to give their opinions regarding domestic cricket.
According to ANI, the majority of state cricket boards have backed the idea of holding the Syed Mushtaq Ali T-20 cricket tournament. The news media outlet also said that few state cricket boards also want the Ranji trophy to resume, while there has been backing for the Vijay Hazare trophy too.
In the current climate, the shorter format of the game is likely to get the upper hand due to enormous logistical problems that may arise while organising test matches across the country. Moreover, the domestic T-20 tournament can act as a trial event for BCCI ahead of hosting the T-20 World Cup in the second half of 2021.
Syed Mushtaq Ali T-20 tournament will also benefit the Indian team. There is still uncertainty over few positions in the T-20 squad, so this tournament can give players an opportunity to prove themselves and book a place in the World Cup squad.
The Indian Super League (ISL) has already kicked off in Goa a few days ago. BCCI should be keeping a close eye on the football tournament to get some sort of idea about organizing a tournament in India during the pandemic. Australia was one of the few cricketing nations to kickstart the domestic campaign this week as Harris Shield games were held last week. Since domestic players need cricket to return for financial and sporting reasons, the backing of state cricket boards for the T-20 tournament should surely force BCCI’s hand.