Ranji Trophy to kick-off from January 13, final in Kolkata
India's premier First-class tournament, the Ranji Trophy, is set to kick-off from January 13 next year. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has finalized six locations for hosting the matches - Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Trivandrum, and Chennai. Kolkata is set to host the knockout phase. Meanwhile, the final of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy will be held in Delhi.
Mumbai, Karnataka, and Delhi are placed in Group C
As per the Ranji Trophy format, there will be six groups, including five Elite of six teams each and one Plate group comprising eight teams. Former champions Mumbai, Karnataka, and Delhi have been drawn in Elite Group C. Meanwhile, reigning champions Saurashtra are placed in Elite group D with Tamil Nadu, Railways, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, and Goa.
Teams placed in Group A, B, C, and D
Here are the teams placed in Groups A, B, C, and D- Elite A: Gujarat, Punjab, Himachal, Madhya Pradesh, Services, and Assam (in Mumbai). Elite B: Bengal, Vidarbha, Rajasthan, Kerala, Haryana, and Tripura (in Bangalore). Elite C: Karnataka, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Maharashtra, and Uttarakhand (in Kolkata). Elite D: Saurashtra, Tamil Nadu, Railways, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, and Goa (in Ahmedabad).
Teams placed in Group E and Plate group
Here are the teams placed in Group E and Plate group. Elite E: Andhra, Uttar Pradesh, Baroda, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Pondicherry (in Trivandrum). Plate: Chandigarh, Meghalaya, Bihar, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh (in Chennai).
Ranji Trophy: Key details about schedule
The tournament will begin after the teams complete their five-day quarantine period. While the quarter-finals will be held from February 28 to March 3, the semi-finals are scheduled between March 8 and 12. The final will commence on March 16. Notably, the Ranji Trophy was canceled for the first time, last year, since the tournament's inception in 1934/35.
What about the other tournaments?
The upcoming Indian domestic season (men's) will begin with the T20 tournament, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, on November 4. It will take place across Lucknow, Guwahati, Baroda, Delhi, Haryana and Vijayawada. Delhi will host the knockouts, starting November 16. Besides, the Vijay Hazare Trophy will commence from December 8. The BCCI is yet to announce the venues for the List A tournament.
State A One-Day tournament and CK Nayudu Trophy
The Men's State A One-Day tournament is scheduled to begin on November 20. Its matches will be held in Rajkot, Pondicherry, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mohali and Guwahati. Meanwhile, the CK Nayudu Trophy (Men's Under-25 four-day championship) will run between January 28 and March 31. The matches are set to take place in Nagpur, Hyderabad, Vijaywada, Mohali, Jaipur, and Ranchi.
