The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah on Tuesday shared his views on the Indian board being criticised for preferring the Indian Premier League (IPL) over domestic matches. While the board has managed to host the IPL by creating a secure bio-bubble environment for the players, the same wasn’t feasible for players for the domestic tournaments.

Last year, several domestic tournaments, along with the Ranji Trophy, were cancelled keeping in mind the worrisome Covid situation in India. Shah opined that organising 60 IPL matches should not be compared with organising the domestic season which has more than 2000 games and the involvement of several states.

“I feel the criticism is unwarranted and unfair. In 2020 as well, in the middle of the pandemic, we conducted Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament, Vijay Hazare tournament and Senior Women’s One-day tournament taking all precautions,” he said. 

“It won’t be a fair assessment if IPL is compared with other Indian domestic tournaments. The IPL has a franchise model and a platform for the world’s best cricketers, coaches, support staff to come and showcase their skills.

In 2020, the Ranji Trophy was cancelled by the BCCI due to the rise in the number of COVID cases. It affected the earnings of several Indian cricketers who rely on domestic tournaments for financial support.

Shah went on to add that it wasn’t easy for the board to organise domestic matches with so many states battling the pandemic. At the same time, he also highlighted how a domestic schedule was in place with the situation improving.
 
“The Indian domestic season has over 2000 games, whereas the IPL has 60 matches. With a cricketing set-up as big and as diverse as India’s, it is not easy to conduct a full season when so many states are grappling with COVID caseloads. However, with the situation improving, we have announced a full season comprising 2127 domestic games across age groups for both men and women,” he added.