BCCI to discuss overhaul of domestic cricket on July 16

Mumbai: The BCCI Working Committee will meet in Delhi on July 16 to discuss and ratify the. recommendations made by the technical committee for an overhaul of domestic cricket.

"It`s a routine meeting. It would discuss recommendations of the technical committee and the special committee (formed in the previous working committee meeting for improving the domestic cricket set up)," BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale told a news agency. On whether the decision of the disciplinary committee that handed out life ban to T P Sudhindra, and slapped a five-year ban on Shalabh Shrivastava and one-year ban on three other domestic cricketers for indulging in spot-fixing would have to be ratified, Jagdale said the disciplinary panel`s decision was final. "The decision of the disciplinary committee is final. There is no need for it to be ratified," he informed. The technical committee headed by Sourav Ganguly and the special committee comprising another former captain Anil Kumble, among others, had recommended some sweeping changes in the domestic cricket structure on June 12. As per the recommendations, the Elite and Plate groups are to be replaced by three groups of nine teams each. Each team will play eight matches at the League stage. Three teams from Groups A and B, and two from Group C, will qualify for the knockout phase. The quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will be five-day games. If in the knockout phase, a result on first innings is not obtained at the end of the fifth day, then the match will be extended into a sixth day. If a result on first innings is not obtained even at the end of the sixth day, then the winner will be decided on the spin of a coin. The technical committee has also recommended a change in the points system in the league stage, suggesting six points for an outright win, to encourage teams to go for these rather than be content with taking first innings points (3 for the team taking the lead). The committee also wants a change in the N K P Salve Challenger Trophy from 2013-14 season with the winners of the previous season`s Vijay Hazare one-day tournament given a slot as one of the three teams, the other two to be picked by the national senior selection panel. With there being a recommendation for a change in the order of domestic tournaments to be staged, the committee has suggested that there can be two Irani Cup games in the upcoming season. Current Ranji Trophy champions Rajasthan would take on the Rest of India in September and after the conclusion of the new Ranji season, its winners would clash with the Rest immediately afterwards, as per the recommendations of the Ganguly-headed technical panel. Some changes in the playing conditions of domestic one-day games have also been suggested by the technical panel. These include the suggestion of one bowler being permitted to bowl a maximum of 12 overs, two bouncers per over be allowed and no change in the prevalent rule pertaining to the number of fielders allowed outside the thirty-yard circle in non-powerplay overs, are some of the recommendations. A change in the under 22 tournament has also been recommended with each such side to be called `A` team of that association. The other recommendations are that players who are below 25 years of age, as on September 1 of the year in which the season starts, should be eligible to be a part of the `A` team and each team allowed to field three players who have figured in the playing XI in the Ranji Trophy in the ongoing season or immediate preceding season in each game. All these recommendations need to be approved and ratified by the working committee on July 16. PTI