BCCI announces 2025-26 domestic cricket season: Full schedule, teams, dates and key changes | Cricket News

Nagpur: Vidarbha gamers pose with the trophy after profitable the Ranji Trophy (PTI Photo)

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has introduced the entire domestic cricket schedule for the 2025-26 season, introducing new group buildings and changes to match codecs. The season will start with the Duleep Trophy on August 28, 2025, and run till April 3, 2026, when the Senior Women’s Inter-Zonal Multi-Day Trophy concludes the calendar. One of the key updates this yr is the revival of zonal alternatives for the Duleep Trophy and the Senior Women’s Challenger Trophy, with six zonal groups competing as an alternative of squads picked by nationwide selectors. To enhance competitiveness in restricted overs tournaments, the underside six groups from final season will now play in a Plate Group throughout age classes. The promotion and relegation system has additionally been tweaked, with just one staff transferring up or down between the Elite and Plate teams every season.

The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Senior Women’s T20 Trophy will see a Super League stage changing the standard knockout section, whereas the Vijay Hazare Trophy and different main tournaments will undertake a 4 Elite Groups and one Plate Group format. For most junior and ladies’s occasions within the Under-16, Under-19 and Under-23 classes, a 5 Elite plus one Plate group system will likely be adopted.The Duleep Trophy will run from August 28 to September 15 with the ultimate set to be performed on the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.The Irani Cup will happen in Nagpur from October 1 to five.The Ranji Trophy will likely be performed in two phases — the primary from October 15 to November 19 and the second from January 22 to February 1. The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy will start its league matches on November 26 and conclude on December 8 in cities together with Lucknow, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Kolkata, with the knockout stage in Indore from December 12 to 18.The Vijay Hazare Trophy league will likely be held from December 24 to January 8 in Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Jaipur and Bangalore, whereas the knockouts will likely be staged from January 12 to 18 on the Centre of Excellence.Quiz: Who’s that IPL participant? The BCCI has additionally finalised the teams for all main tournaments. Teams like Vidarbha, Tamil Nadu, Mumbai, Karnataka and Delhi have been positioned within the Elite classes for the Ranji Trophy, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy, whereas groups corresponding to Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh will compete within the Plate Group. With these changes, the board goals to lift the usual of competitors and guarantee a balanced alternative for groups in any respect ranges throughout the nation.