The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday announced the complete domestic cricket schedule for the upcoming 2025-26 season, with the Duleep Trophy slated to kickstart the season in late August.
In a return to its previous format, the Duleep Trophy will be contested by the six zonal teams, unlike last year when the four squads – India A, B, C and D – were handpicked by the senior men’s national selection committee.
Major format changes
Plate Group in white-ball tournaments: Among the major changes slated for the upcoming season is the introduction of the Plate Group in both senior men’s white-ball cricket tournaments, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Plate Group restructuring has been introduced across age categories. The bottom 6 teams (based on the previous season’s rankings) will be placed in the Plate Group for limited-overs tournaments.
Promotion/Relegation: The BCCI also stated that only one team will be promoted/relegated between Elite and Plate groups going forward, unlike the previous norm of both finalists in the Plate division.
Super League returns to SMAT: The Super League will make a return to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy with the top-two teams from each of the four Elite groups further playing a round-robin stage comprising two groups of four each. The format will also be followed in the Senior Women’s T20 Challenger.
Senior Men’s Domestic season schedule and venues
August 28, 2025 – September 15, 2025 – Duleep Trophy; Final venue: COE, Bengaluru
October 1-5, 2025 – Irani Cup; Venue: Nagpur
Ranji Trophy – 15-Oct-25 to 19-Nov-25 (Phase 1) & 22-Jan-26 to 01-Feb-26 (Phase 2)
Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Elite – November 26 – December 8, 2025 (League) – Venues: Lucknow, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Kolkata; December 12-18, 2025 (Knockouts) – Venue: Indore.
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Vijay Hazare Trophy Elite – December 24 – January 8, 2026 (League) – Venues: Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Jaipur, Bangalore; January 12-18, 2026 (Knockouts) – Venue: COE.
Groupings
Ranji Trophy Groups for 2025-26 season
Elite B: Kerala, Saurashtra, Chandigarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, MP, Punjab, Goa
Elite C: Gujarat, Haryana, Services, Bengal, Railways, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Assam
Elite D: Mumbai, J&K, HP, Delhi, Hyderabad, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Puducherry
Plate: Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim, Manipur, Arunachal
Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Groups for 2025-26 season
Elite A: Mumbai, Vidarbha, Andhra, Kerala, Railways, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Odisha
Elite B: Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh, J&K, Hyderabad, Maharashtra, Goa, Bihar
Elite C: Baroda, Bengal, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Services, Pondicherry
Elite D: Delhi, Saurashtra, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Tripura
Plate: Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh
Vijay Hazare Trophy Groups for 2025-26 season
Elite A: Karnataka, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Pondicherry, Kerala, Tripura
Elite B: Vidarbha, Baroda, Bengal, Hyderabad, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Chandigarh, J&K
Elite C: Maharashtra, Punjab, Mumbai, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Chhattisgarh, Sikkim
Elite D: Haryana, Gujarat, Railways, Andhra, Saurashtra, Delhi, Odisha, Services
Plate: Nagaland, Bihar, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh
