Uttarakhand to make its Ranji Debut in the upcoming season

Finally, after completion of 18 years of its formation, Uttarakhand is all set to feature in the Ranji Trophy.

Ending an 18-year wait, BCCI has decided to form a nine-member consensus committee for overseeing Uttarakhand’s debut next season.

CoA chairman Vinod Rai confirmed on Monday about Uttarakhand’s debut in Ranji and other domestic competitions.

The consensus committee will be having six members from different associations in the state, two BCCI nominees and one Uttarakhand government nominee including the recently retired Professor Ratnakar Shetty.

Also Read: Raina to replace Rayudu for England ODIs

Talking about the process of team selection, Rai asserted, “The committee will be selecting the team and one of the BCCI selectors will sit there to guide them. The Dehradun Stadium will be their home ground and they have one more stadium in Haldwani. So Uttarakhand has enough infrastructure. They are part of the BCCI today, eligible for all age-groups and the senior level.”

With the BCCI technical committee also pressing for the entry of Bihar and northeastern states in the upcoming domestic season, thus the number might go up to 36.

The previous season saw 28 teams participating in the premier domestic competition with seven sides divided into four groups.

Possibly, the BCCI might create a second division for accommodating the newcomers.

On one hand, where Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh which came into existence in 2000 have their own BCCI-affiliated cricket body,  Uttarakhand, on the other hand, is yet to have one.

Jharkhand got BCCI affiliation in 2004 while Chhattisgarh got affiliated in 2008. Moreover, Uttarakhand earned a new recognition in cricket arena earlier this month when it hosted its first ever international T20 series between Afghanistan and Bangladesh.