The upcoming domestic season in Indian cricket could be hampered by the lack of match officials, The Times of India reported on Wednesday.
According to the report, the Board of Control for Cricket in India has with it only 97 field umpires and 54 match referees to officiate over 2,000 matches in the domestic season.
BCCI, according to the report, is planning to host 55 to 60 First Class and List A matches on a single day on multiple occasions once the domestic season gets underway with the Duleep Trophy. Fifty-five match referees and 110 field umpires would be required if the board plans to host 55 games per day, but it’s short by at least 13 field umpires and a match referee.
With more teams from the North Eastern region set to join the domestic setup, the Committee of Administrators (CoA) hasn’t found a way to solve the problem of lack of officials.
“There is a section in BCCI that understands what kind of trouble they are in right now,” the report quoted an official as saying. “If nine more teams come in, matches shoot up in the Ranji Trophy alone by around 35 to 40 games. Now, this results in not just expenses rising but excess manpower too. Clearly, nobody’s bothered trying to understand this.”
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