All’s not well with BCCI: Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 saw low quality grounds, selective broadcast

Low-quality pitches and restricted telecast mar Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26, putting BCCI’s domestic management under scrutiny.

The Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26, India’s premier domestic one-day tournament featuring all 38 Ranji Trophy teams, should be a celebration of grassroots cricket. Instead, it has highlighted systemic neglect within the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), with poor playing surfaces and limited broadcast coverage, sparking frustration among fans, former players and state associations alike.

Money at top, neglect at base
There is no question that the BCCI sits comfortably atop global cricket’s financial hierarchy. In the financial year 2023-24, the board reported a record revenue of INR 9,741.7 crore, a sharp increase from the INR 6,558.8 crore earned the previous year. The Indian Premier League (IPL) alone contributed INR 5,761 crore, nearly 60 % of the total. Other streams, including media rights from international matches, ICC revenue shares, interest income and even the Women’s Premier League (WPL), add further heft to the balance sheet.

With such vast resources at its disposal, the BCCI’s underinvestment in domestic infrastructure is striking. India runs a large domestic calendar featuring Ranji Trophy, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy and age-group events with 37–38 teams playing across formats each season. But these competitions often operate far from the standards witnessed in international venues.

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Grounds fall far short of standards
Many Vijay Hazare matches are staged on basic grounds, university fields, municipal stadiums or district venues that lack core facilities expected even at List-A level. Unlike international stadiums equipped with top-tier drainage, turf practice areas, professional curators and broadcast capabilities, these grounds often suffer from uneven pitches, limited seating, inadequate dressing rooms and support infrastructure, and basic amenities for players and spectators.

The consequences show up in the numbers. On many of these surfaces, flat pitches have led to inflated team totals with 300-plus scores becoming commonplace, raising questions about the balance between bat and ball and the very nature of competitive cricket at this level.

A recurring frustration this season has been the choice of venues while marquee matches are played in world-class stadiums like Narendra Modi Stadium, many Vijay Hazare fixtures are shifted to Gujarat College Ground (Ahmedabad), Sanosara Cricket Ground (Rajkot) and KL Saini Ground (Jaipur), which lack international-level turf, broadcast setups and amenities. These grounds often resemble district or university fields rather than professional List A venues.

Selective & sub-par broadcast coverage
Broadcasting has added to the frustration. Despite featuring megastars such as Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, most Vijay Hazare games have either not been televised live or have been available only in poor quality streams, leading to mockery and disappointment among fans. Some also trolled and questioned the BCCI if it was extracted using a CCTV camera due to low resolution and single-camera coverage.

The frustration is compounded by the fact that only a handful of matches are streamed, often the ones starring the biggest names. Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin acknowledged fan frustration over limited TV coverage, noting the disappointment is “understandable” but pointing to logistical challenges as cited by the BCCI in rolling out widescale broadcasts for such a sprawling tournament.

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Richest board, lacklustre delivery
The irony is stark: the richest cricket board in the world, commanding multi-billion-rupee revenue streams, appears unable to ensure minimum acceptable standards for domestic cricket. International and IPL matches are telecast with world-class production values, yet the bread-and-butter of Indian cricket, its domestic tournaments, are treated as afterthoughts.

Fans are being shut out of matches both physically and digitally. In some high-profile fixtures, including Virat Kohli’s return to domestic cricket, games have been hosted behind closed doors due to security decisions, further dampening engagement.

If India’s domestic system is to remain fertile ground for future stars, the BCCI must reassess its priorities. Facilities need to be upgraded to at least international-class standards. Balanced pitches must be ensured, and greater investment is required in full, high-quality broadcasts so fans can truly follow the game they love. Only then can Indian domestic cricket match the excellence showcased at the highest levels.

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