Ranji Trophy venues unprepared a week ahead of the tournament opener

The venues for some of the Ranji Trophy matches are all set to change as the grounds are not ready due to the extended monsoon in large parts of the country. The schedule will have to be forcefully tweaked as the neutral curators deputed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), have found facilities at two venues inadequate. The domestic tournament of India will commence from October 6.

It is being reported that the ground in Agartala is not yet ready ahead of their home game against Tamil Nadu. Instead, now Tamil Nadu will host the group C match which will start on October 14. The venue of the match has not been announced but the shift has been confirmed by BCCI as well as Tripura Cricket Association (TCA) officials. Interestingly, Tamil Nadu is also playing the first game of the season starting next week.

Stadium in Goa also not fit yet

The secretary of TCA, Saurav Dasgupta cleared that the state has been witnessing non-stop rains ahead of the competition and the ground in Agartala is not up to the mark. “We’ll play in Tamil Nadu,” said Dasgupta, as quoted by Mumbai Mirror. Apart from the relentless rains, the state association is worried more facilities at the stadium and the standard of the pitches. Last year, the Saurashtra team had complained of lack of proper net facilities in Agartala and BCCI has made it clear this time that facilities must match up to the board’s specifications.

However, along with Tripura, Goa is also facing with the pitches. The Panjim ground is still undercooked and the Margao facility is not up to the Ranji mark. The Goa Cricket Association (GCA) has already agreed to shift a U-23 match against Jammu and Kashmir and is struggling to host the first Ranji game against Chhatisgarh from October 6. According to the sources of BCCI, Goa is refusing to change the venue for the Ranji game but the reports indicate that the ground in Panjim is not at all in a state to host the match. A GCA official confirmed the shifting of the U-23 match but refused to discuss the fate of the Ranji game as per Mumbai Mirror.