Ranji Trophy: Chetan Sharma-led selection committee to watch first-round matches
The members of the outgoing BCCI selection committee will watch the first round of the 2022/23 Ranji Trophy. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has appointed the Chetan Sharma-led committee, which was sacked, for the same. Chetan will be in Mohali for Punjab's game against Chandigarh, while Sunil Joshi will travel to Pune for the Maharashtra-Delhi encounter.
Why does this story matter?
The BCCI sacked the senior men's selection committee led by former speedster Chetan in the aftermath of India's semi-final defeat at the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup. Notably, Sunil Joshi, Harvinder Singh, Debasis Mohanty, and Sharma hadn't received any communication from the BCCI. While the BCCI has invited applications for these positions, the former selectors will focus on the Ranji Trophy.
A look at the roster
As stated, Chetan and Joshi will be in Mohali and Pune to monitor the respective games. Harvinder will travel to Hyderabad for the home team's match against Tamil Nadu. Mohanty will be in Kolkata for the Bengal-Uttar Pradesh clash. The roster was finalized under the supervision of the BCCI, which is yet to form a new selection committee.
Shortest stint by a selection panel of late
Sharma (North Zone), Mohanty (East Zone), Singh (Central Zone), and Joshi (South Zone) had the shortest stint as senior selectors of late. Sharma was appointed as chief selector in December 2020. The five-member panel was reduced to four after Abey Kuruvilla completed his maximum tenure of five years. Kuruvilla then took up the role of BCCI general manager. The board didn't name his replacement.
The 88th Ranji Trophy edition is underway
The four former selectors will now focus on the Ranji Trophy, which started on Tuesday. A total of 38 participating teams have been divided into two groups - Elite and Plate, meaning there will be two separate winners this time around. The Elite group comprises four groups (A-D) of eight teams each. Meanwhile, the Plate group will feature a total of six teams.
1st Round matches (Elite, Group A, B, C)
A: Nagaland vs Uttarakhand in Sovima, Odisha vs Baroda in Cuttack, Bengal vs UP in Kolkata, Haryana vs HP in Rohtak. B: Assam vs Saurashtra in Guwahati, Andhra vs Mumbai in Vizianagaram, Hyderabad vs Tamil Nadu in Hyderabad, Maharashtra vs Delhi in Pune. C: Karnataka vs Services in Bengaluru, Puducherry vs Chhattisgarh in Puducherry, Goa vs Rajasthan in Porvorim, Jharkhand vs Kerala in Ranchi.
1st Round matches (Elite, Group D and Plate Group)
Elite, Group D: Punjab vs Chandigarh in Mohali, Jammu & Kashmir vs Madhya Pradesh in Jammu, Tripura vs Gujarat in Agartala, Vidarbha vs Railways in Nagpur. Plate Group: Sikkim vs Manipur in Rangpo, Bihar vs Arunachal Pradesh in Patna, Mizoram vs Meghalaya in Nadiad.
