Neutral pitches in focus; Karnataka sort out Uthappa-Gautam quandary
ESPNcricinfo looks at some big talking points dhead of the second round of the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy matches
ESPNcricinfo staff
12-Oct-2016
Robin Uthappa has said alternating keeping duties with CM Gautam last season taught him about team chemistry • PTI
Pitch imperfect?
The message from the BCCI may have been on uniformity in pitch preparation, but doubts over the neutral-venues concept continued to be raised after the opening round of the Ranji Trophy. The Mumbai-Tamil Nadu opener in Lahli, a marquee clash in Group A, finished in a little over two days, with 34 out of the 38 wickets to fall taken by the fast bowlers.
The message from the BCCI may have been on uniformity in pitch preparation, but doubts over the neutral-venues concept continued to be raised after the opening round of the Ranji Trophy. The Mumbai-Tamil Nadu opener in Lahli, a marquee clash in Group A, finished in a little over two days, with 34 out of the 38 wickets to fall taken by the fast bowlers.
"It was basically a very green pitch," Abhishek Nayar, who made an unbeaten 45 to help Mumbai scrape home by two wickets, told ESPNcricinfo after the game. "Initially, there was a very thick covering of grass that made it very tough for stroke-play. What made things more difficult was the outfield was super slow, so getting boundaries was not easy."
It wasn't too different in Ranchi, where Chhattisgarh beat Tripura by nine wickets. While Yashpal Singh, Tripura's most experienced batsmen, termed it a "rubbish pitch", Sulakshan Kulkarni, Chhattisgarh's head coach, also wasn't pleased with the surface despite his side recording a historic win. "The wicket was up and down right from the start," he said. "You are supposed to have consistent bounce to begin with, but here it was scooting low and shooting up right from the start. There wasn't a blade of grass. Surely better wickets can be prepared. What's the use of playing on these kind of surfaces even after adopting neutral venues?"
Maharashtra's loss to Jharkhand at the Karnail Singh Stadium, which was banned from hosting first-class cricket for a year in 2012, also threw the spotlight on the 22 yards. Kedar Jadhav, who scored two half-centuries in a losing cause for Maharashtra, was fuming after the game. "If a match gets over in close to three days, it is not a good sign for cricket. It has to be a good quality pitch, where you get four days of competitive cricket," he told the Times of India. "The result does not matter. The match has to last for four days. That is how the quality of cricket in general will rise."
Uthappa, Gautam swap no more
One of the reasons cited for possible discord within the Karnataka set-up during the 2015-16 Ranji Trophy was that of Robin Uthappa and CM Gautam, two of their most experienced players, being in the middle of an unwanted restructuring. Karnataka began to alternate wicketkeeping duties between Uthappa and Gautam at the behest of KSCA secretary Brijesh Patel in order to facilitate Uthappa's return to international cricket as a wicketkeeper-batsman. The decision, which gave Karnataka's batting coach J Arun Kumar "sleepless nights", resulted in a bit of friction as Gautam confessed that switching between fielding and wicketkeeping was a "little irritating".
One of the reasons cited for possible discord within the Karnataka set-up during the 2015-16 Ranji Trophy was that of Robin Uthappa and CM Gautam, two of their most experienced players, being in the middle of an unwanted restructuring. Karnataka began to alternate wicketkeeping duties between Uthappa and Gautam at the behest of KSCA secretary Brijesh Patel in order to facilitate Uthappa's return to international cricket as a wicketkeeper-batsman. The decision, which gave Karnataka's batting coach J Arun Kumar "sleepless nights", resulted in a bit of friction as Gautam confessed that switching between fielding and wicketkeeping was a "little irritating".
In a bid to return to winning ways, the team management has made it clear to both players about their roles this time around. "Last season was a learning for me; I understood a little more about team chemistry," Uthappa told the Hindu. "The chemistry works with CM keeping, and I respect that. For me, it was learning, and I've accepted that learning and grown with that."
Shreyas, Shardul boost for Mumbai
Mumbai will be boosted by the returns of Shardul Thakur and Shreyas Iyer for their second match against Baroda in Delhi. Shardul was called up to the Indian team as a late replacement for Bhuvneshwar Kumar on the eve of Mumbai's opening game against Tamil Nadu, while Shreyas, last season's highest run-scorer, missed the match because of a quadriceps injury.
Mumbai will be boosted by the returns of Shardul Thakur and Shreyas Iyer for their second match against Baroda in Delhi. Shardul was called up to the Indian team as a late replacement for Bhuvneshwar Kumar on the eve of Mumbai's opening game against Tamil Nadu, while Shreyas, last season's highest run-scorer, missed the match because of a quadriceps injury.
Vijay and Harbhajan at NCA
M Vijay has been asked to report to the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore for a rehabilitation programme, and therefore will not be available to play for Tamil Nadu in the third round of the Ranji Trophy, starting October 20. The TNCA had earlier requested the BCCI to release Vijay, whose next international commitments, fitness permitting, will be the Test series against England, which starts on November 9 in Rajkot.
M Vijay has been asked to report to the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore for a rehabilitation programme, and therefore will not be available to play for Tamil Nadu in the third round of the Ranji Trophy, starting October 20. The TNCA had earlier requested the BCCI to release Vijay, whose next international commitments, fitness permitting, will be the Test series against England, which starts on November 9 in Rajkot.
Meanwhile, Harbhajan Singh, who was initially not named for just the first fixture, will not lead Punjab in the second round too. Harbhajan is currently at the NCA for a fitness assessment.