BCCI in a huge spot of bother due to this reason
Published - 10 Oct 2024, 05:41 PM | Updated - 10 Oct 2024, 05:44 PM
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The Ranji Trophy 2024-25 is likely to face a tough situation in the upcoming days due to its clash with the Emerging Asia Cup 2024.
With both tournaments likely to take place simultaneously for a few days, it will affect the star status of India's premier first-class competition. The BCCI is concerned about this matter.
The Emerging Asia Cup is due to take place in Oman this year from October 18-27. A total of 8 teams will participate in the tournament six permanent member nations of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC). UAE and Hong Kong are the other teams to qualify for the competition.
Ranji Trophy suffers huge blow due to Emerging Asia Cup 2024
It is to be noted that the Emerging Asia Cup is no longer an Under-23 tournament as it used to be before. The tournament is now a senior tournament with no age limit. This means that the countries will look to bring their strongest 'A' teams possible for the tournament.
The tournament will be played in the T20 format this year. The BCCI is likely to select white-ball specialists for the tournament keeping the T20 World Cup 2026 in mind. According to TOI, emerging white-ball cricketers like Harshit Rana, Tilak Varma, Ayush Badoni, and Sai Kishore are likely to be selected for India A.
These players, along with the players selected for the tournament, will miss the second and third rounds of the Ranji Trophy, which will be a big loss not only for them but also for their state teams.
BCCI concerned about star players missing Ranji Trophy
The Ranji Trophy will begin on October 11. According to the reports, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is concerned about their star players missing some Ranji Trophy matches and will look into their scheduling from now onwards. However, the BCCI will be picking the team based on the format of the competition.
“The BCCI is looking into it. The senior selection committee will be picking the team for the Emerging team this time and they will be focusing on picking players who are T20 specialists, because of the T20 World Cup in 2026. Retaining the U-23 format would have allowed many senior players to play Ranji (Trophy),” a source was quoted as saying by TOI.
Apart from the Emerging Asia Cup, the India A team is also scheduled to tour Australia in October. The tour is going to be important as it can also affect India's squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, which will begin in November.
Pakistan A defending champion of Emerging Asia Cup
The Emerging Asia Cup is a crucial stepping stone for many players who go on to perform well for the senior teams in the future. Over the years, the tournament has been for the Under-23 cricketers but the rule has been changed now.
Pakistan A are the defending champions of the tournament. The Men in Green defeated India A in the final last year by 128 runs. Players like Sai Sudharsan, Abhishek Sharma, Dhruv Jurel, and Riyan Parag were also a part of that team. All these players have made their international debuts now.
