BCCI set to reintroduce Duleep Trophy, Irani Trophy in domestic calendar this year - Reports

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is set to reintroduce the Duleep Trophy and the Irani Trophy in the domestic calendar this year. The events could not be held in recent years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Duleep Trophy last took place in 2019, while the Irani Cup, a five-day one-off match between the Ranji Trophy champions and Rest of India, has not been played in the last two years. The decision to restart the Duleep Trophy and the Irani Trophy was taken at the Indian cricket board’s Apex Council meeting in Mumbai on Thursday (July 21).

According to a report in Cricbuzz, the Duleep Trophy will be held from September 8 to September 25. Earlier, the tournament used to be contested between five zones in a knockout format. However, in recent seasons, it has been played between three teams, with the top two making the final after round-robin clashes. The report says that the competition is set to return to the zonal format system.

The Irani Trophy is set to be held from October 1 to 5. This year’s Ranji Trophy champions, Madhya Pradesh, will face Rest of India in the one-off clash.

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BCCI likely to conduct Ranji Trophy from December 13

During the BCCI meeting, discussions were also held about organising the latest edition of the Ranji Trophy, India’s premier domestic cricket tournament. As per the report, the Ranji Trophy could start on December 13. The league stage could go on till January 28m while the knockouts are likely to be played from February 1 to 28.

The 2022 edition of the competition was split into two halves, with the league games being played before the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 and the knockouts after the T20 event.

Among other major domestic tournaments, the Mushtaq Ali Trophy (T20) could start from October 11, while the Vijay Hazare Trophy (50 overs) is set to be held from November 12. Further, a PTI report says that the women's U-16 category would be introduced by the BCCI in the upcoming season.