Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) on December 26 (Sunday) named the state team probables for the upcoming Ranji Trophy 2021-22 season, set to get underway from January 13. Sachin Baby will lead the team, with wicketkeeper-batter Vishnu Vinod as his deputy, while senior pacer S Sreesanth has been included as well.

Kerala, who are placed in Elite Group B, will begin their campaign against Vidarbha from January 13-16, followed by fixtures against Bengal (January 20 to 23), Rajasthan (January 27 to 30), Tripura (February 3 to 6) and Haryana (February 10 to 13).

All the teams, divided into six groups, will be playing their games in six cities – Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Trivandrum and Chennai, with the final set to be played on March 16 to 20. Kolkata has been earmarked as the venue for the knockouts, scheduled from February 20, whereas the quarter-finals will be played from February 28 to March 3, followed by the semi-finals from March 8 to 12.

Kerala State Team Probables for Ranji Trohy 2021-22

Sachin Baby (c), Vishnu Vinod (vc, wk), Anand Krishnan, Rohan Kunnumel Vatsal Govind, Rahul P, Salman Nizar, Sanju Samson, Jalaj Saxena, Sijo Mon Jopseph Akshay K C, Mithun, Basil N P, Nideesh M D, Manu Krishnan, Basil Thampi Fanoos F, Sreeshanth S, Akshay Chandran, Varun Nayanar K), Anand Jospeh Vinoop Manoharan, Arun M, Vaishak Chandran

Kerala Support Staff

Head Coach: Sri. Tinu Yohannan Coach: Sri. Mazhar Moidu,

Trainer: Sri. Vyshakh Krishna

Physiotherapist: Sri. Unnikrishnan RS

Video Analyst: Sri. Saji S

Ranji Trophy 2021-22 Groups

There are total six groups, including five Elite ones, which have six teams each, and one plate group comprising eight teams. Group C is being labelled as the group of death, with Mumbai, Karnataka and Delhi slotted in together alongside Hyderabad, Maharashtra and Uttarakhand.

Elite A: Gujarat, Punjab, Himachal, Madhya Pradesh, Services and Assam (in Mumbai)

Elite B: Bengal, Vidarbha, Rajasthan, Kerala, Haryana and Tripura(in Bangalore)

Elite C: Karnataka, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Maharashtra and Uttarakhand (in Kolkata)

Elite D: Saurashtra, Tamil Nadu, Railways, J & K, Jharkhand and Goa (in Ahmedabad)

Elite E: Andhra, Uttar Pradesh, Baroda, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Pondicherry (in Trivandurm)

Plate Group: Chandigarh, Meghalaya, Bihar, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Sikkim, Arunachal (in Chennai)

Views on bowler running out the non-striker

My take is very simple; it’s what the law says. If the batsman is outside the crease and the bowler gets him out at the non-striker’s end, then the batter is out and that’s my take. If it’s there in the rule books and it’s as simple as that.

Clash of rules and ‘Spirit of Cricket’

What exactly is the ‘Spirit of the Game’? It’s a sense of fairness. So, what is fair in this with the non-strikers, who are supposed to be inside the crease, is not and is taking the extra inches?. I understand as I’ve been there as well.

At times batsmen don’t do it intentionally, especially nowadays when there’s the third umpire and run-outs are being given or not given on the basis of inches. That’s where I think this makes it that much more crucial that the non-striker stays inside the crease.

Is it fair? No, it isn’t; the batsmen getting out earlier than he should be is not fair. So, Spirit of the Game, for me, is a sense of fairness. For me, it’s not fair for batsmen to get out before the ball is delivered.

On batsmen showing enough respect for bowlers

Well, the batsman doesn’t have to respect the bowler; he/she just has to respect the rules. If there’s a rule out there, there’s a reason for it, especially after the last couple of years when it has been debated quite frequently. If it’s still there, there’s a reason and one doesn’t have to respect anything other than the rule and if the rule says so, let’s abide by this.

On Ricky Ponting words for Ravi Ashwin

I don’t know in what context he said this in. But if he said this then I’m extremely surprised because he himself is one of the players, who’s been tough; he’s played his cricket as tough as a nail and wouldn’t give an iota to the opposition. I’m surprised that this has come from someone like Ricky Ponting because it’s not something that one needs to tell the bowlers.

It is something that is to be communicated to the batsmen. Ashwin said that he stood by his actions. I stand by him as well and there are no two ways about it. Murali Kartik is also in favor of that. It’s not the bowlers’ fault as they aren’t doing anything illegal and it’s the batsmen, who aren’t following the rules. So, why blame the bowler for this, why come down hard on the bowlers when it’s not their fault at all!

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MS Dhoni’s retirement pretty much summed up the way he played the game and the person he is. A little away from the rules and regulations, Dhoni thrived in his own cocoon and marched in his own merry way. A game-changer in his own rights and a character, who showed the world that there’s no single route to success and one can find their own way to glory as per one’s convenience.

If one sees his style of announcing retirement, it depicted his charismatic journey on the field. The song ‘Pal Do Pal Ka Shayar Hu’ is iconic and popular, and Dhoni has made the song even more memorable and dazzling with his way of bidding adieu.

Never a conformist , always did things his way and his retirement is no different . आप ' पल दो पल के शायर 'से कई गुना ज़्यादा हैं और रहेंगे दोस्त । Thank you for so many lovely memories . Was an honour to play with and against you 🙏 @msdhoni

— Deep Dasgupta (@DeepDasgupta7) August 15, 2020

On the occasion of his retirement, I would like to list down two of his best knocks in international cricket. The one which I can instantly connect with is his maiden international century in Visakhapatnam. Nothing had gone his way in limited outings for India until then and suddenly he was promoted to bat at number three after Sachin Tendulkar fell at three.

Many were left puzzled to see Dhoni in the middle and what followed was frankly, least expected for many. The bowling attack comprising the likes of Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Sami and Abdul Razzaq didn’t know what hit them. It was a free-flowing MS Dhoni playing his shots fearlessly and the Indian cricket had discovered a new superstar. I became his fan from that moment and his 148 is still one of my favourite knocks in international cricket.

Talking about my second favourite knock, Well, there are no prizes for guessing. It has to be the unbeaten 91 in the World Cup 2011 final which helped India lift the trophy after 28 long years. Only a captain like him can take a decision to walk ahead of the in-form Yuvraj Singh at such a crucial juncture in the chase. Yes, it could’ve gone wrong. But it was MS Dhoni in the middle. He was determined to take India home and did so in a mature way.

Both these knocks are completely different in nature. The 148 vs Pakistan came from a person who was just finding his feet in international cricket and was given a license to play freely by his captain. However, in 2011, he himself was the captain and was an established name at the highest level while every decision he took was being scrutinized. In such circumstances, he played a knock which will be remembered for the ages to come.

So, all I want to say that it’s been an absolute pleasure to spend time with him, be it in the dressing room or being an opponent. Thank you so much for the love and the wonderful memories MS.

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Thoughts on Women’s IPL

I think it’s a very good idea to get women’s cricket started again. Most importantly, it’s not only the Indian Premier League (IPL) that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced.

It has also announced a tentative schedule for women’s cricket and Future Tours Programme (FTP) leading up to the Women’s World Cup. That’s the reason I think it’s important to get women’s cricket back on the field and get it going.

Reasons for scheduling it in between the IPL

We have to realize that this is the new normal. It’s a bit complicated because to organise anything, you need to create a bubble. It’s not only about the players, it’s about everyone, who’s involved with the whole tournament.

So, while the IPL is on, anyways the BCCI will have to create that bubble and logistically it becomes easier. The women’s cricketers will get into the bubble and it continues.

Clash of the WIPL and WBBL

Obviously it’s not ideal. Ideally, you would want these tournaments not to clash. But you’ve got to keep in mind that how many of Indian players play in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL), three of them if I’m not wrong (Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues) and maybe from the Australian team, there are five to six players, taking part in the WIPL.

Because there’s a World Cup coming up, the whole idea is to get as many cricketers on the field. Then it’s easier for the selectors because there are tours and bilateral series coming up as well post the IPL. From that perspective, it makes sense that in these extraordinary times, you have to make do with what you have got.

Chances of BCCI’s relationship with CA getting ruptured

I don’t think this will affect their relationship at all because everyone realizes what this is all about, how tough the situation is right now. So, everyone’s trying to do their best, and like I mentioned before that it’s not about three, four or five players in the WIPL, it’s about a huge number of players. I know quite a few players will not be available for WIPL.

Not only the Australians, but some of the other big players will also have to make a choice on whether they want to play in the WBBL or the WIPL. But looking at it from the Indian perspective, it’s important that more and more Indian players get back on the field.

From that viewpoint, I’m sure Cricket Australia (CA) and the BCCI will understand as, in these times, you’ve got to be a little open-minded about it.

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Before we understand what the Super League is, we need to find out why it was required. For the last few years, we’ve been talking about these inconsequential bilateral series. As far as Test cricket was concerned, it was sorted out with the World Test Championship.

So, no there’s no inconsequential bilateral series anymore. In the same way like the WTC, we have the Super League. It’s where the bilateral series would have a points system and based on it, teams will qualify for the World Cup in 2023.

So now, every bilateral series, including England’s home series against Ireland– the first series under the Super League rule- will have a points system. The teams will be getting points and based on those points, there will rankings, which will decide the qualifying teams for the next World Cup.

Chances of associate teams in the Super League

Fair chance or not, but it would mean cricket for a lot of lower-ranked sides like Afghanistan and Zimbabwe as they don’t get to play a lot of bilateral series with the top teams. Generally, there won’t be too much of an interest in a series between Australia and  Afghanistan.

But now because there are points at stake, it becomes very important. There’s some context to every bilateral series that is going to be played from here till the World Cup in 2023.

Road to the World Cup 2023

A total of 13 teams will be a part of the Super League out of which 12 teams are regular. Netherlands, who won the Championship league, along with the 12 teams, qualified for the Super League. The Super League would be phase one where based on the rankings, the top seven teams, along with India as the hosts of 2023 will qualify.

So, a total of eight teams will go through and it would leave five more teams. So, those five teams plus another five teams from the Associate nations will get together and play the qualifiers, which is the second phase. Then out of the qualifiers, the two teams- the finalists- will qualify for the World Cup.

So, eight teams- the top seven and the hosts- qualify directly and two teams will qualify through the Super League and the qualifiers. This is the system as of now which according to me makes a lot of sense not only for the qualification process but also for the fact that bilateral series needed some context.

Downsides and upsides

Honestly, I don’t see a downside to this, there are only upsides. It’s because a couple of concerns were needed to be addressed. Firstly, there are enough cricket for the low-ranked teams with the top-ranked teams. With the Super League phase, teams have to play four away series and four home series.  There should be enough cricket for everyone.

There’s always been a concern that the top sides play a lot of series, but nations like Afghanistan and Zimbabwe don’t get to play a whole lot. And mind you, every series would need a minimum of three ODIs, so there are minimum 24 ODIs all the 13 teams will play. Netherlands will also play 24 games because they are part of the Super League. Second is the context to the bilateral series.

There’s generally no context to them, very few watches them with interest. But now, there’s at least some context to it. There’s something every teams wants out of these series irrespective of who is playing whom. The matches might not be very competitive though. Even in the World Test Championship, there isn’t any dead rubber anymore.

Even if the series gets decided before the last Test, the last Test becomes important because there are points that are at stake. The same thing will happen here in the Super League as well.

Fate of World Test Championship in COVID-19 pandemic

The basic idea in the Test Championship and the Super League is the same or the reason why both were formed is the same. As of now, the ICC has said that the WTC still carries on as scheduled and planned which means that the final would be played in June 2021.

I don’t think it should be cancelled and rather it should be postponed, maybe not as of now because there are a lot of backlogs for bilateral series which were supposed to happen in the last four months. Now live cricket has begun again as West Indies have already played against England.

We’ll soon have Pakistan’s tour of England. So, I think it only makes sense to keep it going the way it is. Let’s see how things stand, maybe in the month of March. And if required, then it can be postponed. To be honest, I don’t see the WTC happening as scheduled. I think it will be postponed, but I don’t think there’s any hurry as of now to postpone it.

With June 2021 set for finals day, there will be some sense of urgency where teams will start playing cricket and start playing those bilateral series, which couldn’t take place due to the pandemic. We will get to see a flurry of cricket being played from here till June. In March, the ICC can take a call.

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18th of July was a red-letter day, a day I was really looking forward to. It was the day that another new format was going to be introduced, 3-team competition. 3 teams with 8 players each. Sounds a little confusing, well to start off, it is but if the format is played regularly, it’ll only get easier and more viewer-friendly.

But to be honest, the excitement was not just about the new format, the main reason for the excitement was that the Hindi broadcast of the game was going to be remotely and all of us were working from home.

Challenges:

To clarify things further, let me put it this way, Sanjay Manjrekar, Irfan Pathan, Jatin Sapru and myself, the commentators were in Mumbai, Baroda, Delhi, and Kolkata respectively. Our Director, Mahesh was in Mysore, Producer – Nitin Ambulkar was in Mumbai, statistician Adhitya in Chennai, graphics team in Delhi and the main server at the Star Sports office in Parel, Mumbai. All of us were working from home. Don’t think this has been done before, in cricket at least.

I was extremely excited but also nervous, how are we going to pull it off but credit to the Star Sports team, they did that magnificently I thought. I checked up on a few friends of mine for feedback and most of them said they didn’t really figure out the difference, which says a lot about the team.

The significance of this is humongous in this COVID-19 infested world that we live in now. While live sports has started and will go on, it is imperative that we maintain and follow the precautionary measures to keep everyone as safe as possible.

How it went?

Let me share my experience as a commentator. I was very tense minutes before it started, I had checked my set-up the evening before with the team. with my laptop, headset microphone, LAN line. Half an hour before the start, I realized my laptop was out of charge and it wasn’t charging for some reason.

Had to quickly move to my iPad which wasn’t really charged either. Now the main issue with the iPad was I couldn’t use the LAN, had to be on normal wifi, which meant that with online classes on for my kids I was sharing the internet bandwidth. Another important thing, the camera on the laptop is on top of the screen and hence the eyeline is not a problem, I could look at the camera and watch the visuals at the same time.

But the camera on the iPad is on the side when kept in the landscape mode, the eyeline becomes an issue then. The other important concern was speaking over each other. Sitting separately at our homes, was difficult to figure who was going to talk when and that did happen quite a few times.

Conclusion:

Let me be extremely honest, was it perfect? absolutely not, but looking at how successfully it went in its very first attempt, tells me how good it can be. I am sure more people will get encouraged and start taking this option very seriously and refine it further, especially in these times. While I’m confident the experience will only get better with time but will it ever replace on-field broadcast? that I doubt.

The biggest challenge commentating remotely is the feed itself. We get to see what is shown to us, as compared to when you at the ground, as commentators we pick so many things just looking around. The other important challenge for the broadcast from home is the uniformity of the equipment, starting from the camera to the mics and most importantly the internet connection.

All in all, I must say it was an extremely successful effort and the team at Star Sports must be congratulated for it but it’s still a fair bit away from being the first option.