BCCI technical committee to discuss scheduling of domestic tournaments

The Board of Control for Cricket in India's technical committee, headed by former India captain Anil Kumble, is set to meet in Kolkata on April 7 ahead of the opening ceremony of the Indian Premier League scheduled for the same day.

"The technical committee would meet in Kolkata on April 7," a BCCI source said on Wednesday.

The meeting has been convened to take stock of the suggestions put forth in the conclave of Ranji captains and coaches held in New Delhi on March 15.

One of the important issues expected to be discussed is the scheduling of domestic Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 championship, including its inter zonal phase which is in progress in Cuttack.

At the one-day conclave, captains and coaches of Ranji teams had demanded a revamp of the domestic calendar and suggested that the domestic T20 event be held before the IPL auction.

This season the tournament is set to end on April 7, just a day before the commencement of the IPL which has led to several domestic players of IPL franchise teams being forced to miss the tournament after having played in the zonal phase.

A team such as Mumbai is playing in Cuttack without their Ranji captain Aditya Tare, top batsman Suryakumar Yadav, key all-rounder Abhishek Nayar and young talents Shreyas Iyer and Sarfaraz Khan -- all of who will figure in the IPL.

The BCCI has given the domestic players time till Friday to take part in the T20 competition before joining their respective IPL teams.

A BCCI source has already indicated that from next year there will be no clash of dates between the domestic T20 tournament and IPL.

There could also be discussions on reverting to normal schedule of playing first class tournaments like Duleep, Ranji and Irani before switching over to the limited over format events like Vijay Hazare one-day tournament and T20.

This year, the one-day tournament was held before the Ranji Trophy to help selectors identify players for inclusion in the World Cup squad.

Image: Anil Kumble.

Photograph: Francois Nel/Getty Images