Duleep Trophy is ideal platform to assess bowlers: Bharath Arun

NEW DELHI: Come September 5, a lot of India’s current Test team players and those on the verge of breaking into national reckoning, will be in action for the Duleep Trophy at Bengaluru and Anantapur to kick-start the 2024/25 domestic cricket season.

Of late, the Duleep Trophy has been facing challenges in terms of its significance because of a crowded calendar. The Duleep Trophy has served as a platform for the selectors to gauge if outstanding performers from the Ranji Trophy can excel in a higher standard of first-class cricket.

Apart from three years of not being held due to the Covid-19 pandemic, continuous changes to the Duleep Trophy format has affected its competitive nature. It has oscillated from a five-team zonal event to a three-team contest with teams named after RGB display format and even accommodating teams from Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and England.

The new Duleep Trophy format has four teams (A, B, C, and D) competing, with the top two teams reaching the final. According to Bharat Arun, the former India men’s bowling coach, the revamped Duleep Trophy is the perfect opportunity to assess bowlers before India plays ten Tests till January 7, 2025.

"It provides an opportunity for all the cricketers to have enough number of overs under the belt. Also, it’s a great process to see how they fare with the red ball. The selectors have picked nearly 18-20 players, isn’t it? So, I’m sure they must have zeroed in on a few of the bowlers.

"Duleep Trophy provides you the right kind of platform for you to assess the bowlers. Also, the bowlers get to have enough number of overs under their belt so that it’s like preparation for the (future) Test series," said Arun in an exclusive conversation with IANS.

The Duleep Trophy’s format change is not the only one for the 2024/25 domestic season. The Ranji Trophy has been divided into two phases following last year’s disruptions from the winter season in the north and north-east regions.

The first phase includes five group matches, while the last two group stage games and knockouts will begin after the Vijay Hazare Trophy concludes on January 18, 2025. Arun, a former coach of Tamil Nadu, Bengal, and Hyderabad in domestic cricket, highlighted the positives of dividing the tournament.

"It would work because you are playing more against teams that are equals rather than you pit it against someone who’s well below the expected standards. So, when you’re pitted against equals, who are better cricketers, you have to raise the standards. That’s the only way to learn. So, it’s a good opportunity for all of them to up the standard when you’re playing again amongst equals."

The short turnaround time of just six days between the fifth league stage round of the Ranji Trophy and the beginning of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy will put the players’ adaptability skills to a significant test, according to Arun.

"That’s the norm today, even after Test matches, you play the T20 series and then you go on to play the Test matches. For some bowlers who can do well in all conditions, it is excellent. At the same time, it’s a challenge too.

"It gives you an opportunity to adapt yourself quickly, become more aware of the conditions that are expected on-field and also how quickly you adapt to those conditions – all of that becomes a challenge. So, for any upcoming bowler, playing different formats also kind of tries to get the best out of them because their success totally depends on how quickly they are able to adapt to different conditions," he said.

In addition, the coin toss has been done away with in the Under-23 Col CK Nayudu Trophy. The visiting team will decide whether they would bat or bowl first. “In a way, it could help if you look at the positive side. The wickets that the home team prepares would be a lot fairer because they wouldn’t like to give any undue advantage. So, I think there would be fair wickets.

“This is something that we have to wait and see. We haven’t done it before. We have to wait and see how good the change is. Every change comes with its own challenges. There are some good aspects of the change, and also some downside to the change, but we’ll have to really wait and see how it pans out,” added Arun.

The revamped points system in the Under-23 competition includes additional points for teams’ batting and bowling in the first innings. Arun signed off by saying this would lead to an increase in more result-oriented cricket, instead of drawn affairs.

"With all the changes in points systems that has come out, they are trying their best to see how they can make it more competitive, and get more result-oriented matches. That’s pretty much good for the game. Sporting declarations come in and challenging the other team with the totals that seem achievable and trying to get them out - this is also a challenge.

"I feel earlier there would be a lot of teams who used to play for draw or they were playing more like packing one side and bowling negative lines. All that will have to disappear. They’ll have to play a lot more positive cricket to come in."