The Ranji Trophy will be held between January 5 and March 20, the BCCI has informed the state associations of the domestic tournament.
In a letter to the state association, before the start of the Ranji Trophy, the council decided first to complete the white-ball leg. The Ranji Trophy was earlier set to play between November 16 and February 19, according to the schedule that was published earlier.
Several member units have requested that the Ranji Trophy be held after the white-ball tournaments, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and Vijay Hazare Trophy so that the teams have enough time to prepare.
The Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 Trophy is set to be held between October 27 and November 22. The One-day Vijay Hazare Championship will start from December 1 and will conclude on December 29. The Inter-State A men’s competition will take place between January 6 and April 2.
“The pandemic has been tough on all of us, we have all had to make some hard decisions that have kept us from playing a full-fledged domestic cricket season in India. On behalf of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), we thank all our state associations, administrators, match officials, coaches, and athletes, for their patience and understanding,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah said in the letter.
In the Vijay Hazare Trophy, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and the Ranji Trophy, each group consists of six teams. There will be five Elite groups. A platform group of eight teams will take place. The quarter-final will be won directly by the winner of the five elite groups. Three pre-quarter finishes will be made by the second-placed teams from each Elite team, the Plate group winner and the three winners will finish in the fourth finale.
The domestic season commences with the Women’s Under-19 One-Day and Vinoo Mankad Trophy between September 20 and October 19. The Board also intends to host the Under-16 Vijay Trade Cup in November and December, although the date is yet to be announced.
The teams may have up to thirty members in squad size – of which at least twenty would-be players, support personnel is limited to 10. According to the BCCI, the last day for inter-state transfer and registration of guest players will be 15 days before the start of the tournament.