This week marks 50 years of Karnataka’s maiden Ranji title in 1974. This golden jubilee and RCB’s recent WPL triumph open up the possibility of a grand year if the franchise’s men’s team win the IPL

Karnataka skipper Erapalli Prasanna with the Ranji Trophy at Jaipur on March 27, 1974. Pic/mid-day archives

Seldom in recent years has the Ranji Trophy been so talked about. It probably all started with the establishment deciding to leave out Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan when it came to handing out BCCI central contracts. The unofficial reason put forward was that these two players stayed away from playing the Ranji Trophy.

The national championship got expected traction when the Mumbai v Tamil Nadu and Vidarbha v Madhya Pradesh semi-finals played out. And then of course, the Mumbai v Vidarbha final which was open till the end of the first session on the final day at the Wankhede Stadium.

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The Mumbai Cricket Association did well to invite their former players to witness the final. I hear invitations were extended to even players who played one Ranji Trophy game for Mumbai.

It was great to see images of some of the biggest names in city cricket watching the action from the pavilion end. This ought to have been a massive motivational tool for the young players participating in the finale. It certainly was for Musheer Khan, who noticed Sachin Tendulkar was watching him as the 19-year-old became the youngest Mumbai centurion in a Ranji Trophy final. Even current India captain........

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