MUMBAI: "Dear red ball, please give me one more chance.. I'll make you proud, promise!," Saurashtra left-arm seamer Jaydev Unadkat had tweeted, along with a picture of a Test match ball in his hand, on January 5, the day the BCCI decided to postpone the Ranji Trophy and all the other domestic tournaments due to a covid surge in the country.
The BCCI's move, though logical in the circumstances, has left India's domestic cricketers confused and anxious with the whole situation, as the Ranji Trophy is a major source of both income and opportunity. "The Ranji is extremely important for a majority of us domestic cricketers. It's their major source of our livelihood. You get Rs 35,000 per day for playing in the Ranji Trophy. If a player plays in the full season, he can earn anything between Rs 18-20 lakhs. Players have EMIs and many other monthly expenses. This money is crucial for their survival. The other issue is, how do you plan ahead for the rest of the season? Right now, we're confused whether to practice with the red or white ball," a well-known domestic player told TOI.
