Duleep Trophy, Irani Cup and full Ranji Trophy season under consideration by BCCI
India Today
After a gap of three seasons, BCCI are currently considering the possibility of conducting the Duleep Trophy and Irani Cup during the upcoming campaign.
The BCCI are planning to restart the Duleep Trophy and Irani Cup for the upcoming domestic season. A full Ranji trophy season is also reportedly in the pipeline.
The Duleep Trophy and the Irani Cup haven't been conducted for the past three seasons, while a curtailed Ranji trophy campaign was held last season.
The Duleep trophy was earlier held between five zones on a knockout basis. However, the teams were reduced to three, with the top two qualifying for the final after the round-robin stage. The Irani Cup will be contested between the Ranji Trophy Champions and the Rest Of India squad.
During the BCCI Apex Council on Thursday, according to a report by PTI, various options for the 2022-23 campaign were discussed with BCCI President Sourav Ganguly declaring that a full domestic season would take place during the time period. The board is also planning to start the season with the Duleep Trophy, which will likely be held from 8th September. BCCI is also considering playing the Irani Cup from October 1 to 5.
The options for conducting the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the Vijay Hazare Trophy and the Ranji Trophy were also discussed on Thursday. While the Mushtaq Ali trophy, which will be in the T20 format, could start on 11th October, the Vijay Hazare Trophy is expected to start from 12th November.
The Ranji Trophy could start from 13th December, with the knockout matches being played from 1st February next year. Last season, BCCI conducted a curtailed Ranji Trophy.
According to the report, one of the formats discussed for the tournament during the meeting could see four groups of eight elite teams and one group of six plate teams competing in the Ranji Trophy. With this, each team would get to play atleast seven matches.
