Ganguly Proposes change in Ranji Format

Chennai: The BCCI technical committee is planning a change in the Ranji Trophy structure from the 2011-12 season. It's been learnt that instead of two teams getting relegated, the committee wants four teams to face the drop. The technical panel, consisting of stalwarts like Sunil Gavaskar and Sourav Ganguly, met in Chennai on Friday.

"It was proposed that two teams should be relegated from the Elite Group and two teams should go up from the Plate Group," a BCCI source said. The committee felt this will make the tournament "all the more interesting". "If four teams get relegated, there will be more pressure on the sides to go for outright victories. That can make the format all the more competitive," the source said.

In the current format, two teams get relegated while two teams make the Elite Group. In fact, the two teams that come up join the top-six in the knockout stages of the Ranji Trophy. The committee, however, is not too keen to tamper with the concept of two teams joining the Elites. "It's not a problem if the top two sides make the cut. It will only increase the competition for top berths in the Plate Group," the source added.

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