India domestic cricket schedule 2025-26: Here's a look at the dates and major changes made for the upcoming season. (BCCI)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.
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.
Vijay Hazare Trophy Elite – December 24 – January 8, 2026 (League) – Venues: Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Jaipur, Bangalore; January 12-18, 2026 (Knockouts) – Venue: COE.
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
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