Tare Suggests Changes in Points System for Ranji Trophy

Mumbai, Feb 11 (PTI) Mumbai skipper Aditya Tare on Tuesday suggested changes in the points system for the Ranji Trophy and called for inclusion of batting and bowling points.

Currently, only top five teams from combined A and B Groups make it to the quarter-finals, while two teams from Group C and one from Plate Group qualify for the last eight of the tournament.

This is the second straight season when 41-time Ranji champions Mumbai have failed to make it to the knockout stage of the premier domestic cricket tournament.

At present, an outright win gives a team six points and an innings victory or a triumph by 10 wickets gives a team the bonus point. So in such a case, the team gets overall seven points.

If a team is able to take the first innings lead in a drawn game, it gets three points, while the other gets only one point. In case of a washout, both the teams get one point each.

Tare said Indian cricket administrators can look at the points system in existence in the United Kingdom and Australia, and award batting and bowling points to teams.

Asked whether the BCCI should relook at the present format, Tare told reporters, "Yes, I mean, that needs to be looked into.

"And one thing, what Indian cricket can do is, look at the points system -- having batting or bowling points, something that happens in the UK and Australia."

"(If) there is no first innings (lead) or even if there is no outright result, there are a lot of points -- batting and bowling points -- to keep the contest interesting and you will have a lot of points to gather as a team," Tare said on the eve of Mumbai's 'dead rubber' against Madhya Pradesh.

Tare also dubbed the current scenario, where only five teams make it to the Ranji quarters from combined A and B Groups, as a "tough call".

"With neutral curators you don't know how the pitch would come up in terms of result, everyone needs result- oriented (pitch) to qualify... then you get a flat pitch.

"You cannot fight for six points on a placid pitch, so if there are batting points, there are some more points to gain from that game, so that can be looked into. Five out of 18 is pretty tough call...," he signed off.

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