BCCI secretary wants floodlit summer cricket

A top Indian cricket official says it high time national tournaments are played during summer nights under floodlights.

Niranjan Shah, the new secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, also wants money to be pumped into domestic cricket so that the players start earning more from national meets.

A player in the Ranji Trophy, the country's oldest national championship, and similar tournaments get around Rs. 300 for a day's play besides allowances and other perks.

In contrast, members of the Indian cricket squad earn at least Rs. 120,000 for each Test match, and Rs. 100,000 for each one-day international. Stars like Sachin Tendulkar boost their earnings enormously through advertising.

Shah, a former Saurashtra cricketer, feels the game needs to be played at night in summer, the traditional off-season.

"Since we have several venues with floodlights, we can find out if matches can be played during the summer too," Shah said.

"How to utilize the available facilities is one of the ideas I will put before my colleagues in the BCCI."

Shah said the seven-month Indian domestic season (October to April) is "too short" but it cannot be extended.

"Neither can we advance it because of rains in September, nor can we extend it after March-April as it becomes too hot. But we can utilise lighting facilities at various centres (and play in summer at night)."

He added: "My priority is to improve the earnings of domestic cricketers -- like those of Ranji Trophy, under-22 and under-19 players. We should give more money to Ranji Trophy players and make them more professional, like those in Australia and England."

The Rajkot-based Shah understands full well that it is easier said than done.

"I know it is a very big task, but we must move on with that," he said. "Not only the board but various cricket associations should also part with more money so that the players don't have to look for a job.

"If they get enough money in a year, they will be more focussed cricketers, and this will improve the general standard of the game in the country."

The new BCCI secretary has also not ruled out contracts for first-class players who take part in Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy tournaments, on the lines of those the senior national players would soon be signing.

"First let the system for international cricketers come into effect," he said. "If it is successful, it will be implemented at lower levels also. It will take some time."

Shah also wants top players like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid to play in domestic meets if they are free from international commitments.

"Only then domestic cricket will be made more powerful and good cricket will be seen," he said. "It used to be (like that) before, but with so much international cricket..."

Shah's views on Indian pitches are bound to antagonize those who have been advocating for livelier and sporting pitches to replace the placid ones.

"In (Sunil) Gavaskar's time (1970s and 1980s), there were slow wickets in India, but the players could still play on fast tracks (abroad), they could adjust on any kind of surface," said Shah, referring to the weakness of Indian batsmen to cope with fast bowling while playing abroad.

"So if we cannot prepare fast wickets, like those in Australia or South Africa, we should play on spinning wickets at home. What is the harm?" he asked.

"By preparing spinning tracks, we can produce quality spinners. Nothing wrong with that."

He explained that since every association affiliated to the BCCI wants to win domestic matches, it would be difficult to change the nature of the pitches. "After all winning is the bottom line," he quipped. "In some cases, the natural condition of the soil may not allow fast tracks."

Indo-Asian News Service