KSCA season kicks-off today with YSR event

The Karnataka State Cricket Association will kick off its 2020-21 season from Friday with the conduct of the YS Ramaswamy Memorial tournament which will be held in its traditional 50-over format.

A total of 133 Bengaluru-based clubs will be participating in the tournament which will be played at an unprecedented 20 grounds across the city. The primary reason for hosting the event in so many venues is to complete an approximate 118 matches in a tightly-scheduled 17-day window.

The tournament will kick off with the knockout format and 8 teams will qualify for the Super League. Last season’s quarterfinalists will also be added to the Super League and the 16 teams will be divided into four groups. The top two teams from each group – played in round-robin format -- will then advance to the knockout quarterfinals and then the semifinals. The final is on December 6.

“We are thrilled to be kick-starting the new season,” KSCA treasurer and spokesperson Vinay Mruthyunjaya told DH. “We’ve already staged two pending finals from the previous season and we can’t wait to resume our new season. It’s been a very tough time for all – players, officials, clubs and administrators. All of them were keenly looking forward to the resumption of activities and we at KSCA put in a lot of effort to ensure things kick off without further delay.”

The coronavirus pandemic is still around and Mruthyunjaya admitted that hosting the event would be a huge challenge.

“Yes, we are aware the pandemic is still highly active. We at the KSCA have prepared detailed SOP and have circulated to all the clubs in advance. If the SOP is followed then this event can go off without much of a glitch. We will try our best to ensure it’s followed and I’m sure players and officials will also follow them because this is as important for them as it is to us.”

When asked about plans for the remainder of the season, Mruthyunjaya said the managing committee wants to take it one step at a time. “Two finals have taken place without a hitch but that was just four teams. In YSR we are talking about 133. So logistically, this is a huge challenge. We want to complete this event successfully and then decide our future course of action. Our endeavour is to conduct as many events as possible.”