The 2021-22 season of the Ranji Trophy tournament will be played between January 5 to March 20, the BCCI has announced after issuing a fresh itinerary for domestic cricket in the country.
Significantly, Ranji Trophy wasn’t held last season due to the pandemic and also due to the logistical obstacles.
As per the board, the domestic calendar with start with the senior men’s cricket, commencing from October 27 with the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
The Mushtaq Ali Trophy has been scheduled after the IPL 2021 so that more quality cricketers could participate in it.
After it, the Vijay Hazare Trophy (50-over tournament) will be played between December 1 and 29 while the senior women will play their first tournament — National One Day — between October 20 to November 20.
For the senior men’s tournaments (Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy), the 38 teams will be divided into six groups.
While the five Elite Groups will consist of six teams each, one Plate group will witness eight teams.
Meanwhile, the board has also decided that each squad for the upcoming domestic season can have a maximum of 30 members, comprising a minimum of 20 players.
On the other hand, the number of support staff has been capped at a total of 10.
Also, the BCCI has asked the state associations to include a team physician in each of the squads to manage Covid-19 related issues.
The team physician will be separate from the team physiotherapist and is inclusive of the 10 support staff.