One could argue that the reforms ordered by Justice Lodha by the Supreme Court and forcing the BCCI to have separate teams for each state have produced mixed results. While Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram have remained punching bags and records have been rewritten at their expense, teams like Uttarakhand have punched above their weight.The Central Zone team defeated Jharkhand by an innings and reached their first Ranji Trophy semi-finals last week to get there. Based in Dehradun, but playing their semi-finals from February 15 to 19 against Karnataka in Lucknow due to lack of stadium, the venue is no coincidence: Uttarakhand had reached the quarter-finals twice since they enjoyed a separate existence in 2018. Rishabh Pant, Aysuh Badoni and Anuj Raw-at are just some of the names who belong to Uttarakhand, a part of Uttar Pradesh as recently as 2000.
Navneet Mishra, Ranji team director, told TOI: “We don’t have money, bank balance or infrastructure. But we have Junoon.” They also don’t have their selectors. Mahim Verma, secretary of the Uttarakhand Cricket Association, said: “Our constitution guarantees that selectors must have a minimum experience of 25 first-class matches. We don’t have such people. But maybe it is better to have external selectors as there is less pressure and headache.” Three of their selectors, including the president, belong to J&K, Himachal Pradesh and Assam.Although the state’s coaching partnership with former India and Mumbai stalwart batsman Wasim Jaffer ended on a sour note in 2021, its decision to bring in Manish Jha as head coach, originally from Bengal, played for Delhi-based Services and with coaching experience with Manipur and Delhi Under-23, has worked out.“Earlier we were preparing for the Ranji season by playing limited overs matches. That was not in line with our objective. I initiated multi-day red-ball practice matches between the Ranji probables and the under-23 players. Players used to put in a lot of effort in search of an IPL contract,” Jha said.“But this (red ball, multi-day) is the real format of cricket. These matches have helped the players get into the right mindset. We have worked a lot on the fitness of all the players.“The training program and covered nets (June 15 to September 15 are three months of heavy rain) have also helped,” he added.