Batting great Sunil Gavaskar on Saturday said that Ranji Trophy will remain a “poor cousin” of the cash-rich IPL until the player’s match fee in the elite first-class tournament is substantially increased. Currently, each player gets approximately Rs 2.5 lakh per match in the Ranji Trophy, which looks like a fancy amount nonetheless, but it is no match to the crores the IPL stars earn.
“IPL dominates Ranji Trophy. Unless there match fees are increased substantially, it will be considered an orphan and poor cousin of Indian cricket,” Gavaskar said.
The legendary batsman, who captained India to the famous 1985 Benson & Hedges World Series triumph in Australia, was speaking during the 26th Lal Bahadur Shastri Memorial Lecture in New Delhi.
Gavaskar also spoke about MS Dhoni’s sabbatical from cricket, questioning if it is alright for any cricketer to take an undefined break from international cricket.
“I can’t tell you anything about fitness. But I think the question that needs to be asked is of MSD himself,” Gavaskar told reporters.
“He has not made himself available to play for India since July 10. That is an important point. Does anyone keep himself away from playing for India for that long? That is the question and therein lies the answer,” he said.
In the absence of Dhoni, Team India management has been playing Rishabh Pant in the team. The young keeper-batsman, however, has been unable to perform consistently. His glovework is poor and his stay on the crease does not last for long.
In place of the underperforming Pant, the team management gave a chance to Sanju Samson in the third and final T20I against Sri Lanka. While the Kerala cricketer was not bad with his glovework, he could not do much with the bat, getting out on only the second ball he faced.
With no one taking up Dhoni’s responsibilities in the team, the management will be in a fix ahead of the World T20 in Australia.
