BANGALORE, NOV 12: For years Indian domestic cricket had been sacrificed at the altar of the international cricket calender. So much so, there were a number of players who at some stage of their career had played more Tests and one-dayers than Ranji Trophy matches!

This season it looked like the system was being reversed as during late October and even till mid-November the top cricketers were left free to turn out for their respective states in the Ranji Trophy.

Suddenly, a big blow of a Ranji Trophy match (between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu) being deferred to ensure the top players take part in a benefit match has landed.

This is not to belittle Anshuman Gaekwad, in whose benefit the Sri Lanka Vs Indian XI match is to be played at Baroda on November 13. In fact he deserves to have been given a date that would not have clashed in any way with any cricket. The fact is KSCA and TNCA have bowed to pressure and re-scheduled their match to start from November 14 to 18.

This move, apparently, was to ensure that Rahul Dravid, Javagal Srinath and Anil Kumble are made available for the Baroda match. (Venkatesh Prasad, nominated as skipper of the Board President's XI will not be available for the Ranji game in any case).

Nothing wrong with the move except that the Ranji match would now finish only on November 18 and the first Test in Mohali between India and Sri Lanka starts the next day, on November 19. Should these players be selected for national duty (the team is to be announced in Cuttack only on November 15), there is no way that they could play the now postponed Ranji Trophy match and also land in Mohali in time for the Test.

To start with, there are no direct flights between Bangalore and Mohali. The players would have to take a 150 minute flight to Delhi and then take the train to reach Chandigarh which is a few kilometres away from Mohali. Thus they simply will not make it in time for the Test.

The alternative is cruelly simple. Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, would have to drop from the Ranji Trophy match, players whom they expect would make the Indian team.

To make matters worse, secretary of the BCCI, JY Lele, has stated that he and the selectors were convinced of Venkatesh Prasad's fitness, but were yet to receive Javagal Srinath's written statement of fitness for consideration for selection.

It should be noted, Srinath, like the other front runners for selection in the Karnataka team, has already played three Ranji Trophy matches this season -- against Kerala, Goa and Hyderabad.

Besides, three of the national selectors, Shivlal Yadav, Sambran Banerjee and Pandove were in Bangalore for the Ranji Trophy match against Kerala to solely judge Srinath's and Prasad's fitness level. They went away satisfied for both bowled with great speed and verve on a dead and docile track.

This has made chairman of the Karnataka selectors, Brijesh Patel, see red. ``Whom is he trying to fool? Let them indulge in politics by all means. But not at the cost of the nation's prestige. Besides these selectors drawing data for all days of the Ranji Trophy match against Kerala, Shivlal (Yadav) certainly saw Srinath in action in the match in Hyderabad. Was it not enough? Lele is a fool if he thinks that people are going to be taken in by his stupid statements,'' said Patel.

Lele has already made far too many faux pas in his short stint as Board secretary. He released the Lankan itinerary and included the Gaekwad benefit match in it as though the benefit match was an official one. Gaekwad is not eligible for an official match for he has not played the equivalent of 100 Tests.

Earlier, in Sri Lanka, in the middle of the Indian tour he had announced the plan to sack Madan Lal as cricket manager. In all these even KSCA has not covered itself with glory. Perhaps in its anxiety to grab an Indo-Australia cricket Test early next year it has compromised the chances of its players.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.