BCCI cautious about player defections

The Board of Control for Cricket in India will prefer a wait-and-watch approach to the problem of players dumping their home state units and moving to greener pastures in the domestic competition.

"We will look into the matter if it develops. At present we would rather wait and watch," BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya said.

Nicky Saldhana of Maharashstra had expressed concern about players from the Plate division moving to Elite units for better opportunity in the captains and coaches conclave on Friday.

The Ranji Trophy championship at present is divided into Elite and Plate groups, but Saldhana feared the rule on import of up to two players in a state unit could trigger off many requests for transfers in the next season.

In the last season 12 teams -- Goa, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra, Bihar, Vidarbha, Services, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Saurashtra and Tripura -- formed the Plate group.

The Elite group comprised 15 teams -- Andhra, Baroda, Mumbai, Himachal Pradesh, Railways, Punjab, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Bengal, Delhi, Hyderabad, Orissa, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

Board treasurer Kishore Rungta also sought to allay any fears on this count by stating that seeking transfer is not so beneficial to players in any case.

"It is not easy to get transfers. Even if a cricketer gets it, he faces pressure from the local association, local media and domiciled players," Rungta said.

Ironically, if reports are to be believed, two of Maharashtra's players, Abhijit Kale and Hrishikesh Kanitkar, could next year seek transfer to the Rajasthan state unit where Rungta holds sway.

Former India player Praveen Amre supported Rungta's line of thought suggesting an imported player is hardly welcomed in a new state.

"When I moved from West Zone to Central Zone, the latter viewed me an outsider while the former looked at me as a deserter," said Amre.

The statement is only partially right since Sarandeep Singh and Vivek Razdan (in the 90s) might have suffered for leaving their home states in the hope of better opportunites.

Players like Narendra Hirwani (from UP to MP) and Vikram Rathore (from Punjab to Himachal Pradesh), on the other hand, are success stories of transfers.

Still, the fact that only one Plate player - Irfan Pathan (jr) -- has found place in the India 'A' side for England this summer, could trigger off an exodus of good Plate players into the Elite units next season.

Cricketers hopeful of gaining greater recognition, players like Tinu Yohannan (Kerala) and Irfan Siddiqui (Mah) suffered by playing for Plate division teams last year.