BCCI committee suggests postponing 2016 Duleep Trophy

The Duleep Trophy interzonal cricket tournament conducted uninterrupted by the Cricket Board since 196162 could be postponed next season if the BCCIs Working Committee approves the recommendations of its Technical Committee that met on TuesdayThe Anil Kumbleheaded Technical Committee has recommended to the Working Committee that the Duleep Trophy once considered as virtually the selection trials for picking Test teams be postponed because India would be hosting the ICC World T20 during the period its being played said BCCI in a media releaseConsidering that India is hosting the ICC World T20 2016 in MarchApril 2016 the Committee proposed to postpone the Duleep Trophy which is scheduled during that period it saidAmong other recommendations that the Technical Committee decided was to revamp the Ranji Trophy points system to encourage outright wins change the format of the interzonal Deodhar Trophy into a threeteam event and reformat the oneday interstate tournament and the T20 tournament for the Mushtaq Ali TrophyIn continuation to the efforts made over the years a review of the existing points system in the Ranji Trophy was discussed with an objective to encourage teams to aim for outright victoriesIt was proposed to abolish the current system of awarding 3 points for the first innings lead and 1 point for the other team and introduce a bonus point system for batting and bowling applicable in the first innings onlyOne bonus point will be awarded to a team scoring 300 runs in 85 overs and one bonus point for a team taking 7 wickets in 85 overs However the current system of awarding 6 points for an outright win and a bonus point if applicable will continue BCCI said about changes proposed in Ranji TrophyIt was also proposed to revamp the current format of the Deodhar Trophy and have three teams participating the winner of the Vijay Hazare Trophy and two teams picked by the national selectors the release saidIt was also proposed to reformat the OneDay InterState Seniors tournament and the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament by forming four groups from across the country as against the current zonal system the release saidThe Technical Committee also welcomed the Boards measures in tackling the menace of illegal bowling actions The Committee appreciated the efforts of the BCCI and the approach taken to curb illegal suspected bowling action cases and the remedial steps being undertaken The Committee recommended that the ICC protocols be followed in toto which will further strengthen the current process it saidThe Kumbleled panel also proposed that the process of pitch preparations needed to be improved The Committee expressed concern on the wicket preparation undertaken at some of the venues and suggested various measures to improve the reporting process which will help in taking appropriate corrective measures in the futureIt was a fruitful discussion with an increased focus on strengthening domestic cricket These recommendations are a summary of three major meetings which includes the Captains amp Coaches Conclave and the Technical Committee meetings this year We hope that some of the measures suggested will make domestic cricket more interesting and challenging Kumble saidAfter seeking feedback from all our stakeholders we discussed these salient points in the Technical Committee meeting Some of these recommendations could have a longterm impact and help in achieving our objectives and address our immediate demands of the forthcoming cricket season said BCCI secretary Anurag ThakurI am confident that we will be able to increase the competitiveness in the upcoming domestic season he added