Forty years after it was introduced amidst expectations that it would give the domestic game a much needed fillip, the Duleep Trophy has met with the ultimate humiliation. For the 2001-2002 season, it is scheduled to be played at the fag end when interest among players and cricket followers is bound to be lukewarm. And if the Quadrangular tournament, being planned to involve India, Pakistan, Zimbabwe and West Indies is held at the same time, the country's premier national competition again runs the risk of being devalued.

The Duleep Trophy inter-zonal tournament was inaugurated in 1961-62 and came as a whiff of fresh air in the sick domestic circuit. The Ranji Trophy Championship, after more than 25 years, had lost much of its sheen and glamour and dwindling crowds said it all. It was hoped that the Duleep Trophy, a much stronger tournament involving the best players from the five zones, would do much to bring back interest in domestic cricket. And for many years, the zing was indeed very much in evidence. Matches were of a higher standard, competition was keen and the feats of the leading lights in the game in the country were followed with fervour.

The first decade and a half of the Duleep Trophy was the tournament's golden period. From the late seventies, the devaluation commenced. With the international calendar getting heavier, stars started giving the competition a miss. Many times, the Duleep Trophy had the tag of `glorified trials' being held just prior to selecting the Indian team for a tour.

In the 80s and 90s, the Duleep Trophy became just another domestic tournament to be conducted without any particular planning by the BCCI. By this time the international commitments became even heavier and so the competing teams generally consisted of the second string of players. Not unexpectedly, the crowds stayed away. A brief flirtation for a few years of holding the competition on a league basis did not change matters much. Indeed, many players complained that it only made the Duleep Trophy needlessly long winded.

But all through these four decades, the tournament was held either at the start of the season or midway through. So the players were still fresh and had something to play for. With the BCCI having now shifted the 2001-2002 competition, to be staged in the Central Zone between March 28 and April 15, the tournament has suffered the ultimate insult.

For one thing, the Indian players would have just about completed a most exhausting international season. Cricketers who have been playing non-stop from May to March would hardly be in the proper frame of mind to do justice to their ability. Many of them, nursing injuries or just citing staleness, would even give the tournament a miss. And then there is the matter of the Quadrangular tournament. The last ODI of the Zimbabwe tour is to be played on March 19. If the Quadrangular is held after this date, the players will not be able to take part in the Duleep Trophy tournament. And one must not forget that the international season will not end with the Quadrangular. India are scheduled to tour West Indies in April-May 2002. So where is the question of the leading players taking part in the Duleep Trophy? And by pushing the country's premier domestic competition to the fag end of the season, the BCCI has shown scant regard for it. For the administrators, it is just another tournament to be conducted every season. The timing and the importance due to it be damned.

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