The BCCI announced changes to the rules and playing conditions of the upcoming domestic season after the Apex Council meeting on Saturday.
A major change for the upcoming 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season will be the promotion and relegation of one team between the Elite and Plate groups, rather than the regular practice of two. The format change in red ball cricket will apply to BCCI tournaments across all age groups.
Here is the list of other changes introduced for the upcoming domestic season:
- Duleep trophy set to return to zonal format and will be held from August 28 to September 15
- The squads for the Duleep Trophy will be picked by Zonal committees rather than the National selection committee.
- The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Senior Women’s T20 trophy will have a new Super League format on which the top two teams from Group A and B will meet in the final.
- The Plate division has been reintroduced in all domestic one-day competitions and the SMAT. The six bottom-placed teams from the last season will form the plate group.
- For all white-ball tournaments, the head-to-head clause has been replaced, and net run rate will determine which team advances in case of equal points.
