Ranji Trophy

• 06 Jan 2023

Why in News?

Ranji Trophy 2022-23 started from 13^th December, 2022 and will end on 20^th February, 2023.

What is Ranji Trophy?

• The Ranji Trophy founded by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), was named after one of India’s first test cricketer, Ranjitsinhji, who played for England and Sussex.
  • Ranjitsinhji known as ‘Father of Indian cricket’, never actually played for India.
• Largely regional in nature, the Ranji Trophy can be summed up as a domestic first-class cricket series played by various regional teams against one another.
• The series was announced in 1934, and the initial fixtures took place in 1934-35. Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala donated the trophy.
• The Ranji Trophy has gained vast popularity over the years, and in modern times has achieved a similar status like county cricket, which is prevalent in England.
• One of the most distinctive features of the series is that apart from regional cricket boards of various states, government teams also take part in the tournament, like the Railways team, and several other teams associated with government enterprises.
• In Ranji Trophy 2022-23, a total of 135 matches will be played and a total of 32 teams are taking part that have been split into four groups.
  • Madhya Pradesh won the 2021–22 Ranji Trophy.

What are the Other Domestic Cricket Tournaments?

• Duleep Trophy:
  • Named after Kumar Shri Duleepsinhji of Nawanagar, the Duleep Trophy is a domestic first-class cricket competition in India whose first edition was played in 1961-62.
• Vijay Hazare Trophy:
  • Vijay Hazare Trophy is a limited overs domestic competition that involves different state teams from India to fight against each other for the title and is named after Prominent Indian Batsman-Vijay Hazare.
• Deodhar Trophy:
  • The Deodhar Trophy is a List-A domestic fifty-over competition annually conducted in India, having first started in the 1973-74 season.
• Irani Cup:
  • On completion of 25 years of the Ranji Trophy Championship, The BCCI inaugurated the Irani Trophy in the name of late Z R Irani in 1960.
  • Irani Cup sees a match annually between the Ranji Trophy champions of the preceding year and rest of Indian team.
• Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy:
  • Introduced in the year 2008-09, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy is a Twenty20 cricket domestic championship, organized by BCCI, among the teams from Ranji Trophy.

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Years Question (PYQ)

Q. Consider the following statements in respect of the ICC World Test Championship: (2021)

1. The finalists were decided by the number of matches they won.
2. New Zealand was ranked ahead of England because it won more matches than England.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Ans: (d)

Exp:

• The 2021–2023 ICC World Test Championship is the second edition of the ICC World Test Championship. It started on 4 August 2021 and is scheduled to finish on 31 March 2023.
• Revamped Point System
  • The ICC announced in 2020, that the finalists would be decided by percentage of points earned. The amount of points available per Test has been made uniform. This system allows the relative performance of teams to be compared at any point in time, meaning the cancellation of any matches or series for any reason does not directly impact the points table. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
• New Zealand was the first team to qualify for the inaugural final. It was ahead of England due to its ratings, i.e., points (126) after playing 22 matches. On the other hand, England after playing 35 matches has got a 107 rating. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.
• Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer.

Source: TH