The Ranji Trophy Coaches and Captains Conclave held in the presence of the BCCI’s Technical Committee produced some constructive ideas from the invitees around the country. The conclave was organised to review the 2012-13 Indian domestic cricket season, which was the first one played with the changed format.

The Head of Technical Committee, Anil Kumble, said after the four-hour meeting that all the Ranji teams were happy with the new three-tier format, which replaced the Elite and Plate League system. “We received a positive feedback. Everyone expressed happiness over the new format. There was consensus that the format is pretty good,” Kumble said.

A common concern for various teams was the gap between two Ranji matches. Coaches raised the issue of fatigue creeping in among players, especially during the second half of the tournament. Kumble said that the point will be taken into consideration and a middle path would be arrived at. “We could have some matches with three days in between, while others could have four days’ gap in between. We will have to see how it works,” he said.

Another suggestion was to reformat the Vijay Hazare Trophy – the premier domestic one-day tournament – by dividing teams into three groups, along the lines of the Ranji Trophy. Currently, the initial phase of the tournament is played on a zonal basis.

While terming it a “logistical nightmare” Kumble said that the committee will see what could be done to address the teams’ demands. The former India captain informed that while a few affected teams raised minor concerns over the umpiring, the general feedback was that “the standard of umpiring and the quality of pitches has improved.”

Many captains and coaches were also of the opinion that the knock-out matches in the Ranji Trophy should be held at neutral venues in order to negate home advantage. Kumble said that all the suggestions will be discussed during a meeting of the Technical Committee to be held in a few days. “We will soon have a Technical Committee meeting, perhaps in the third week of March, in which all the ideas will be discussed,” he confirmed.