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Fixtures leave Karnataka fuming

Last Updated 22 February 2013, 19:22 IST

After stuttering home in their final match of the South Zone one-day tournament to retain the KS Subbaiah Pillai Trophy, a relieved Karnataka were soon left confused by the knockout schedule of the all-India one-day championship for the Vijay Hazare Trophy which begins in Visakhapatnam on February 26.

Karnataka finished on top of the six-team group after accruing 20 points ahead of Kerala, who collected 17 points. But to their surprise, the champions found that they have been drawn to play pre-quarterfinals against Uttar Pradesh while the second-placed Kerala will be directly playing the quarterfinals against North Zone champions Punjab.

“I don’t know the logic behind this (draw),” wondered Karnataka batting coach J Arun Kumar on Friday. “From a cricketing perspective I was ok with it because the boys would get to play an extra match (if they qualify for the quarters) but since it’s a knockout stage if you have one bad day, you are out of the tournament. Frankly, us playing pre-quarters doesn’t make any sense to me. I’m still trying to figure out what could be the reason to draw up such a schedule,” he remarked.

According to sources in the BCCI, only the semifinalists from the previous season -- in this case Bengal, Mumbai, Delhi and Punjab -- are seeded and are given direct entry to quarterfinals. And in its unparalleled wisdom, the BCCI’s Tour, Programme and Fixtures Committee -- headed by DDCA President Arun Jaitley with Board Secretary Sanjay Jagdale as its Convenor -- decided rest of the match-ups by draw of lots that has left teams like Assam and Karnataka, who won their respective zonal events, disappointed.

What is more bizarre is the stricture that in case any of the four seeded teams fails to qualify, the team taking its place from that particular zone would directly play the quarterfinals. For example if Bengal, who finished second behind Assam in East Zone competitions, had failed to make the cut, Odisha (if they had qualified) would have automatically been eligible to play the last-eight match.

Assam and Karnataka aren’t the only two sides adversely affected by this flawed process, even Central Zone champions Madhya Pradesh too have to play pre-quarters. And with Assam scheduled to take on MP, one of the zonal champions will be eliminated before the quarters.

Surely, the BCCI has some thinking to do.

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(Published 22 February 2013, 19:22 IST)

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