BCCI on July 18 (Wednesday) has announced a newly-shaped Ranji Trophy schedule which will see 37-teams competing in the 2018-19 season, commencing November 1.
Meanwhile, the premier tournament returns to Elite-Plate format with the nine newly added teams. Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Puducherry, Sikkim, and Uttarakhand – forming the plate group. On the other hand, the existing 28 states will form three elite groups A, B, and C.
Top-ranked team of the Plate division will not only qualify for the quarterfinals but will also find themselves in the Elite Group C for the next season. Likewise, the top-two teams that qualify for the quarterfinals from Elite Group C will earn a promotion to nine-member Elite Groups A and B in the next season.
The knockouts will commence from January 15. The one-off Irani Trophy match will see Ranji Trophy champions clashing with Rest of India squad beginning February 11.
However, the 2018-19 domestic season though gets underway on August 17 with Duleep Trophy, played in four-day format. It will be interesting to see it the board is eager to continue the four-team tournament in the pink ball.
The Vijay Hazare Trophy and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy will also be a 37-team tournament. The one-day competition starts on September 19 while the T20 game, beginning February 21. This will provide players platform to prepare for IPL 2019 that begins in the last week of March.
Elite Groups
A:
B:
C:
Plate Group: Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Puducherry, Sikkim, and Uttarakhand
Where to Watch
Not available yet
Full Fixture
Not available yet
Fixture Summary
TOURNAMENT START DATE END DATE
DULEEP TROPHY 17-08-2018 08-09-2018
VIJAY HAZARE TROPHY 19-09-2018 20-10-2018
DEODHAR TROPHY 23-10-2018 27-10-2018
RANJI TROPHY – LEAGUE 01-11-2018 10-01-2019
RANJI TROPHY – KNOCKOUT 15-01-2019 06-02-2019
IRANI TROPHY 11-02-2019 15-02-2019
SYED MUSHTAQ ALI TROPHY 21-02-2019 14-03-2019
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