There would be little point splitting hairs over who more-influenced the recently announced awards of the BCCI — those whose authority flows from judicial diktat, or what remains of the elected element of the sporting body. What must merit all-round appreciation, regardless of where personal empathy may lie, is the quality of the “selection”.

Fresh ground has been broken: it is difficult to decide what deserves greater applause: honouring a woman cricketer for the first time, or the awards committee unshackling itself from the prevailing tendencyt o deem success at the “Test” or “International” level as the prime criterion of accomplishment-evaluation.

While the former has a sentimental appeal in this era of gender equality — though former skipper Shanta Rangaswamy earned her award without any such “riders” coming into play — there is a welcome injection of “professionalism” manifest in Rajinder Goel and Padmakar Shivalkar being conferred the CK Nayadu Lifetime Achievement Award.

So also with the other BCCI awards that were conferred on the first of “contemporary” fast bowlers Ramakant Desai, and leg-spinner VV Kumar. When Desai made his debut his pace and bounce provided much relief to Indian fans who had agonised along with the batsmen who had been subjected to the fire and fury of the hurricanes from the Caribbean, Wes Hall and Roy Gilchrist.

Both Goel and Shivalkar might regret having played in the “wrong era”: for while there could be no questioning the class of their left-arm spin, they “lived” under the towering shadow of Bishen Singh Bedi.

There was no way in which that quartet of top class spinners (Chandrasekhar, Prasanna and Venkataraghavan) could be disturbed to enable either Shivalkar or Goel to don national colours. Goel provided Haryana with 750 “scalps” including 637 in the Ranji Trophy.

Spearheading the Bombay spin-attack, Shivalkar bagged 589 victims, reaping 42 five-wicket harvests and notching up 10-wicket match-hauls on 13 occasions. To say that they were “first class” bowlers would be gross understatement. Their prowess was legendary, even though few television screens projected their capabilities — either on the field or when endorsing a range of commercial products.

It is for breaching the “Test” barrier that the BCCI awards merit unlimited kudos. It is something of a tragedy that the Ranji Trophy (and other domestic competitions) does not attract the popularity and support that marks the County championship in England or the Shield/Cup matches in Australia and South Africa.

Honouring Shivalkar and Goel in some way restores a necessary balance. Domestic cricket has long been neglected, limited finances for players, no five-star accommodation etc, and played before miniscule crowds on pathetic pitches — though after the one in Pune, “Test” pitches do not always indicate superior quality.