Ranji Trophy, India’s premier domestic cricket tournament, will return in January 2022 after the pandemic made it a no-show last season, the first break in its 87-year history. The domestic cricket season will kick off this September with the U-19 boy’s one-day tournament, the Vinoo Mankad Trophy, to be played in a bio-bubble environment.
For seniors, the BCCI has planned the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament from the third week of October followed by a one-day tournament- the Vijay Hazare Trophy in November. If everything goes smoothly as plan, the board wants to have its Ranji Trophy and U-25 games in January 2022. The women’s senior and U- 25 games will also be played then in the meantime.
Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy to kick start domestic season; Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy to follow
Ranji Trophy To Return After A Year’s Absence
Ranji Trophy, India’s premier red-ball tournament will return after a year’s absence as the BCCI set plans in motion for the Indian domestic season. The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy will also resume with the season to kick start in September. The Women’s and U-19 level games will also return to the forefront as BCCI looks to place impetus on the domestic calendar.
BCCI joint secretary Jayesh George has been given charge of preparing the domestic calendar for the forthcoming season. A tentative schedule was earlier sent by the secretary Jay Shah in July but BCCI had to alter its old schedule due to the IPL mega auction in 2022 and the Covid-19 pandemic. As per the old schedule which was circulated earlier, the board was planning to host its Ranji Trophy from November 16, 2021, to February 19, 2022, but has now decided to conduct Vijay Hazare Trophy in November.
The state associations will be informed about the new schedule next week. The Indian board has gone back to the old season formula where five Elite groups will have six teams apiece while the remaining eight teams will form one plate group. A secure bio-bubble will be formed and the teams will have to check in three days in advance at their respective venues.
BCCI Decided To Conduct U19 Games To Prepare And Select The Team For ICC U19 World Cup To Be Held In West Indies In January 2022
BCCI has decided to conduct U-19 games first to prepare and select the team for the forthcoming ICC under-19 World Cup, scheduled to be held in West Indies in January 2022. Owing to the pandemic, the board could not conduct any junior cricket for the last year. The BCCI Board will also announce a new five-member junior selection committee in due course. However, it’s not clear whether the board will go ahead with U-16 tournaments despite announcing it earlier.
India has won the U19 World Cup on a record four occasions, while Australia has won three times, Pakistan twice, and Bangladesh, England, South Africa, and the West Indies once each. Bangladesh is the defending champion having won the title in 2020. Bangladesh won the title after defeating India by 3 wickets in the final match at Potchefstroom, South Africa, based on Duckworth Lewis Method on Feb 9, 2020. This was Bangladesh’s first ICC Under-19 World Cup victory.
Last year, the Ranji Trophy, as well as junior cricket, were not held because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the operational difficulties of creating a bio-secure environment for thousands of players and support staff. While players lost out on significant earnings, the BCCI copped a lot of flak for too much focus on the cash-rich league IPL.