BCCI conducts Captains & Coaches Conclave 2019

The Board of Control for Cricket in India conducted the Captain and Coaches Conclave 2019 in Mumbai to look back on the mega domestic season 2018-19. The one-of-its-kind conclave is held every year to take stock of the season gone by, seek feedback and suggestions to make Indian domestic cricket make more competitive and inclusive.

 Various State Associations attended the day-long conclave and for the first time ever a separate conclave for women captains and coaches was conducted.

 A detailed discussion was held on the following topics and the Board will review the suggestions made at the conclave

• Concept of neutral curators
• Format of knockout games of Ranji Trophy to continue home and away basis or revert to neutral venues
• Discussion on doing away with the coin toss and letting the visiting team make a decision to bat or bowl first
• Introduction of evaluation reports by Match Referees about umpires
• Feedback on Match Referees' performance by umpires for the first time
• Additional responsibility handed to Match Referees who now act as Talent Identifiers
• Feedback on the quality of balls used throughout the season
• A detailed discussion on over rates and it was suggested that data be collated to understand causes for slow over rates and ways to address the issue
• With the domestic structure now involving 37 teams, a discussion was held on the relevance and significance of Duleep Trophy and the Irani Trophy and opinion on the same was sought
• Introduction of DRS with the available technology for televised Ranji Trophy games

Mr CK Khanna, Acting President, BCCI said, “Indian Cricket has spread across the country and the concluded season proves that. It was a phenomenal season. It’s a proud moment for us that we now have teams from the North East competing in the BCCI domestic tournaments. While teams like Mumbai and Karnataka dominated the premier tournaments, the emergence of Vidarbha as champions in the past few seasons have proved we now have a very competitive domestic structure.”

Mr Anirudh Chaudhry, Hony. Treasurer, BCCI said, “The entire Indian Cricket set up stands on the strength of domestic cricket, the players, captains, coaches, the support staff and the State Associations. Their role is as crucial as those of the players who represent Team India. The idea of this conclave is to ensure that the views of the players and coaches are heard. We value their feedback and it is duly noted and considered. Their suggestion is extremely valuable and I thank the domestic players, support staff and the State Associations for playing an integral part in the success of Indian Cricket.”

Mr Rahul Johri, CEO, BCCI said, “This is an extremely important forum and I am very happy that we now have a separate conclave to review women’s cricket. It is an important stage as key stakeholders of Indian Cricket converge under one roof and discuss the way forward. One of my very first meetings after joining the BCCI was this conclave and I am glad that over the years we have seen some very engaging discussions. I am very confident that the upcoming season will be even bigger and better and we will continue to strengthen the standard of the sport across all age groups.”

Mr Saba Karim, GM Cricket Operations, BCCI said, “It has been a splendid season. We have completed a successful and challenging season. The number of matches significantly went up from 1108 games last season to 2024 games this season and we efficiently managed this massive jump. Ahead of the season, we had extensive discussions with the selectors and coaches particularly in women’s cricket and tournament formats were designed accordingly. We now have a busy schedule for women’s cricket as well and we are going to have more India A women’s tours in the upcoming season.”

Mr MSK Prasad, Chairman, All-India Senior Selection Committee, Ms Hemlata Kala, Chairperson, All-India Women’s Selection Committee and Mr WV Raman, Coach, Indian Women's Cricket Team and Mr Daljit Singh, Chief Curator, BCCI also attended the conclave and shared their thoughts.