Over the years, BCCI has rung in changes by inviting overseas teams and doing away with the zonal flavour. This year, they decided to trial the pink ball in this tournament with the teams being called India Blue, India Green and India Red
Abhinav Mukund of India Red plays a shot during the Duleep Trophy match
"Traditions, traditions. Without our traditions, our lives would be as shaky as... as... as a fiddler on the roof! The mandarins of the Indian cricket board — rightly or wrongly, whichever way you look at it — don't believe in the above words which are uttered in the first part of the 1971 film Fiddler on the Roof by the lead character Tevye.
Abhinav Mukund of India Red plays a shot during the Duleep Trophy match
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Duleep Trophy used to be the most important tournament on the Indian cricket calendar after the Ranji Trophy. Over the years, the Board has rung in changes by inviting overseas teams and doing away with the zonal flavour. This year, the BCCI decided to trial the pink ball in this tournament with the teams being called India Blue, India Green and India Red.
How about naming the teams after India's deceased cricketing stalwarts, who have been top performers in the Duleep Trophy over the years? ML Jaisimha, who passed away in 1999, heads the list of run-getters, who have passed away with 1456 runs for South Zone at 45.50, aided by four centuries. Following him is Hanumant Singh (1306 runs), who led Central Zone to victory in 1971-72.
MAK Pataudi lent credibility to the tournament by representing both North and South Zone from 1963 to 1974.
The cricket bosses could also toy with the idea of naming the teams after some living domestic giants, who were unfortunate to miss out on India selection, like Padmakar Shivalkar (71 wickets in 15 matches) and Rajender Goel (59 wickets in 18 matches). Or why not tireless pacer Kailash Gattani, who claimed 56 wickets in 18 games?
Bishan Singh Bedi reckoned the BCCI has insulted the tournament named after KS Duleepsinhji, the nephew of KS Ranjitsinhji. "They have made a mockery of this great tournament by playing matches with the pink ball. And what's the India Red, India Blue and India Green about? What allegiance will the players have? Forget the players, how many BCCI officials know about Duleep," remarked Bedi, who played in the Duleep Trophy over a 16-year peroid (1964 to 1980).
He claimed 52 wickets for North Zone and his finest Duleep Trophy moment was when he led his zone to victory over Central Zone in the 1973-74 final at Mumbai. "In the previous game, we beat West Zone led by Ajit Wadekar. The competitiion was intense. The authorities muck around with the tournament now and say they want to attract crowds. How can you attract crowds when the contest lacks a competitive edge," asked Bedi.
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