What new rules has the BCCI introduced for the 2025–26 domestic cricket season?
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced important changes for the 2025–26 domestic cricket season, along with the full schedule. One major update is that the Duleep Trophy will return to being played between zonal teams, chosen by zonal selectors, rather than the format used last year, which involved four mixed Indian teams. In the Ranji Trophy, only one team will move up from the Plate Group to the Elite Group, and one team will drop down, making promotion and relegation more limited this season.
The changes continue with India's domestic T20 competition - the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy - now having a Super League stage instead of a traditional knockout. This means that the eight teams who qualify from the group stage will be put in two groups of four teams - Group A and Group B - and each team will play three league games against the teams in their group. The teams that finish top of their groups, respectively will contest the final. This change has also been made to the Senior Women's T20 Trophy.
New Group Format Introduced for Limited-Overs Tournaments in 2025–26 Season
From this season, the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Senior Women’s One Day Trophy, and Men’s U23 State A Trophy will have a new group format. Earlier, the Vijay Hazare Trophy had three groups of eight teams and two groups of seven. But now, all three tournaments will be played with four Elite Groups and one Plate Group. The teams have been placed in these groups based on their performance in previous seasons, including points earned, number of wins, and net run rate.
From the upcoming season, the teams that finish at the bottom in these categories will be moved down to the Plate Group for the limited-overs tournaments. The season shall commence from August 28, 2025 with the Duleep Trophy and shall conclude with the Senior Women's Inter-Zonal Multi-Day Trophy on April 3, 2026, spanning a little over five months.
Key Changes to the Indian Domestic Cricket Structure for 2025–26 Season
| Change | Details |
|---|---|
| Duleep Trophy Format | Reverts to zonal format, scheduled from August 28 to September 15. |
| Squad Selection for Duleep Trophy | Teams will be picked by Zonal Selection Committees, not the National Selection Committee. |
| Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy & Senior Women's T20 Trophy | Introduced a Super League stage: The Top two teams from Groups A & B will contest the final. |
| Plate Division Reintroduction | Plate Group added in all domestic one-day competitions and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. It will include six bottom-ranked teams from the previous season. |
| Tie-Breaker Rule in White-Ball Tournaments | Head-to-head rule removed; Net Run Rate (NRR) will now decide progression when teams are level on points. |
Key Tournament Dates
| Tournament | League Start Date | League End Date | Knockout Start Date | Knockout End Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duleep Trophy | NA | NA | 28-Aug-25 | 15-Sep-25 |
| Irani Cup | NA | NA | 01-Oct-25 | 05-Oct-25 |
| Ranji Trophy – Elite | 15-Oct-25 to 19-Nov-25 (Phase 1) | 22-Jan-26 to 01-Feb-26 (Phase 2) | 06-Feb-26 | 28-Feb-26 |
| Ranji Trophy – Plate | 15-Oct-25 | 19-Nov-25 | 22-Jan-26 | 26-Jan-26 |
| Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy – Elite | 26-Nov-25 | 08-Dec-25 | 12-Dec-25 | 18-Dec-25 |
| Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy – Plate | 26-Nov-25 | 04-Dec-25 | 06-Dec-25 | 06-Dec-25 |
| Vijay Hazare Trophy – Elite | 24-Dec-25 | 08-Jan-26 | 12-Jan-26 | 18-Jan-26 |
| Vijay Hazare Trophy – Plate | 24-Dec-25 | 03-Jan-26 | 06-Jan-26 | 06-Jan-26 |
| Senior Women's T20 Trophy – Elite | 08-Oct-25 | 19-Oct-25 | 25-Oct-25 | 31-Oct-25 |
| Senior Women's T20 Trophy – Plate | 08-Oct-25 | 15-Oct-25 | 17-Oct-25 | 17-Oct-25 |
| Senior Women's One Day Trophy – Elite | 06-Feb-26 | 18-Feb-26 | 22-Feb-26 | 28-Feb-26 |
| Senior Women's One Day Trophy – Plate | 06-Feb-26 | 14-Feb-26 | 16-Feb-26 | 16-Feb-26 |
India vs New Zealand: Likely Venues
| Match | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1st ODI | Hyderabad | Jan 11 |
| 2nd ODI | Rajkot | Jan 14 |
| 3rd ODI | Indore | Jan 18 |
| 1st T20I | Nagpur | Jan 21 |
| 2nd T20I | Ranchi | Jan 23 |
| 3rd T20I | Guwahati | Jan 25 |
| 4th T20I | Visakhapatnam | Jan 28 |
| 5th T20I | Thiruvananthapuram | Jan 31 |
ALSO READ: ICC Approves Changes to Two-Ball Rule and Concussion Sub Protocols in ODIs
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