BCCI Releases 2025–26 Domestic Cricket Schedule
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has officially announced the full schedule for the 2025–26 Indian domestic cricket season. This upcoming season not only features a packed calendar from August 28, 2025, to April 3, 2026, but also introduces significant structural reforms across formats and age groups.
Let’s break down the key highlights and changes of this new season:
1. Season Timeline: From Duleep Trophy to Senior Women’s Multi-Day Final
The domestic season will kick off with the Duleep Trophy on August 28, 2025, and conclude on April 3, 2026, with the Senior Women’s Inter-Zonal Multi-Day Trophy final. Across these seven months, tournaments for men, women, and junior cricketers will take place in over 20 Indian cities.
2. Return of Zonal Selections in Duleep and Women’s Challenger Trophy
One of the standout decisions this year is the revival of zonal team-based selection for the Duleep Trophy and Senior Women’s Challenger Trophy. Instead of selections made solely by national selectors, the BCCI has opted for a more traditional zonal approach involving six teams: North, South, East, West, Central, and North-East.
This move aims to strengthen regional identity and scouting depth.
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3. Plate Group Introduced for Bottom-Ranked Teams
To raise the standard of competition and offer fair opportunities, BCCI has created a Plate Group for the bottom six teams across all age categories. This includes teams like Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, and Nagaland.
This new structure will allow lower-ranked teams to compete on an equal footing and gradually improve through more balanced contests.
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4. New Promotion and Relegation System
The promotion-relegation system has undergone revision as well. From this season onward, only one team will be promoted from the Plate Group to the Elite Group and vice versa.
This aims to reduce churn and maintain competitive stability while still offering an incentive to perform consistently.
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5. Super League Stage Replaces Knockouts in T20 Competitions
Both the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy will see a Super League stage introduced in place of the traditional knockout rounds.
This change ensures that top teams get more matches against other competitive sides before entering the final phase, making the format more merit-based and exciting.
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6. Updated Group System for Major Tournaments
The structure of the domestic tournaments has been revamped as follows:
Vijay Hazare Trophy: 4 Elite Groups + 1 Plate Group
Ranji Trophy: 4 Elite Groups + 1 Plate Group
U16, U19, U23 (Men’s and Women’s): 5 Elite Groups + 1 Plate Group
These refined groupings are designed to ensure teams of similar strength compete against each other and are rewarded accordingly.
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7. Tournament-Wise Schedule and Venues
Here is a breakdown of the key tournaments and their dates:
🏆 Duleep Trophy: Aug 28 – Sep 15 | Final at Centre of Excellence, Bengaluru
🏆 Irani Cup: Oct 1 – 5 | Nagpur
🏆 Ranji Trophy (Phase 1): Oct 15 – Nov 19
🏆 Ranji Trophy (Phase 2): Jan 22 – Feb 1
🏆 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Nov 26 – Dec 8 (League in Lucknow, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Kolkata); Super League in Indore (Dec 12–18)
🏆 Vijay Hazare Trophy:
League: Dec 24 – Jan 8 (Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Jaipur, Bangalore)
Knockouts: Jan 12 – 18 (Centre of Excellence)
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8. Strong Elite Pool for Top States
Top-performing state teams like Mumbai, Tamil Nadu, Vidarbha, Karnataka, and Delhi have been placed in the Elite Groups across the Ranji Trophy, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and Vijay Hazare Trophy.
These teams will face stiff competition and serve as a testing ground for future India prospects.
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9. Focus on Junior and Women’s Cricket
The BCCI has not limited innovation to the senior men’s circuit. The Under-16, Under-19, and Under-23 categories (for both boys and girls) will use the five Elite + one Plate group system, creating more balance and wider scouting options.
Additionally, the Senior Women’s Challenger and Multi-Day tournaments have received renewed attention with structured zonal and inter-zonal formats.
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10. Vision Behind the Structural Changes
These updates align with the BCCI’s long-term vision of:
Ensuring competitive parity among states
Offering equal match-time for lower-tier teams
Increasing the talent pool for Team India selections
Encouraging grassroots development in remote regions
Reducing lopsided games by grouping similar-performing teams
By making these systematic adjustments, the BCCI is creating a more inclusive, balanced, and performance-oriented domestic ecosystem.
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🔚 Conclusion: A Modern, Merit-Based Indian Domestic Season
The 2025–26 domestic cricket calendar marks a significant evolution in India’s cricket structure. With a renewed focus on regional balance, competitiveness, and transparency, the changes are set to benefit both established powerhouses and emerging teams alike.
As fans and players await the season to unfold, this progressive step by BCCI sets the tone for a more dynamic and merit-based domestic cricket future in India.
