BCCI Apex Council Meeting: Key decision taken on Bengaluru stampede; schedule for domestic season 2025–26 confirmed

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) formed a three-member committee that would formulate guidelines aimed at preventing incidents like the stampede outside Bengaluru's M.Chinnaswamy Stadium. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia will be the chairperson and treasurer Prabhtej Singh Bhatia and vice-president Rajeev Shukla will be the other two members.

The committee has been tasked with formulating the guidelines within the next 15 days.

"In light of the incident that occurred during the victory celebrations in Bengaluru, the Apex Council has decided to constitute a committee to formulate comprehensive guidelines aimed at preventing such occurrences in the future," the BCCI said in a statement released on Saturday, June 14.

As many as 11 people lost their lives in the stampede outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium on June 4, a day after Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) won their first IPL title. RCB had announced a financial support of Rs 10 lakh to each of the families who lost their loved ones in the stampede.

Duleep Trophy to kickstart 2025-26 Domestic Season on August 28

The BCCI also announced the dates and venues for India's 2025-26 domestic season. Duleep Trophy will serve as the season opener, starting on August 28, 2025 at BCCI's Centre of Excellence (CoE), with the final scheduled to take place on September 15.

The league phase of the Ranji Trophy will be split into two phases: The first phase will commence on October 15, 2025 and end on November 19, 2025. The second phase will begin on January 22, 2025 and end on February 1, 2026. The knockout phase of the tournament will start on Febuary 6, 2026, with the final scheduled for February 28, 2026.

India's premier 50-over competition-Vijay Hazare Trophy - will start on December 24, 2025. The league phase will be played in four venues - Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Rajkot, and Bengaluru - and will conclude on January 8, 2026. The knockout phase will begin on January 12, 2026 and end on January 18, 2026 and those matches will take place at the CoE.

The league phase of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy will commence on November 26, 2025 and end on December 8,2025. Lucknow, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Kolkata will host those matches The knockout phase will begin on December 12, 2025 and end on December 18, 2025 and will be played in Indore.