BCCI tweaks Ranji format as one team to be promoted and relegated; Super League in SMAT

New Delhi: The 2025-26 Ranji Trophy will be held from October 15 to February 28 in two phases with a tweaked format which will see the promotion and relegation of one team from the plate group instead of the current two sides, the BCCI decided in its Apex Council meeting on Saturday.

Back in 2018-19, the BCCI had added nine teams in the Ranji Trophy including the team from the North East but that has impacted the quality of cricket in the premier domestic competition.

Meghalaya played in the Ranji Trophy elite division but lost all their seven games last season.

"All multi-day men's tournaments (senior and junior), 1 team will be promoted and 1 team will be relegated for the 2026-27 season grouping," read a BCCI note in PTI's possession.

The format change in red ball cricket will apply to all BCCI tournaments across age groups.

The first phase of Ranji Trophy will be played from October 15 to November 19 while the second phase will run from January 22 to February 1. The knockouts will be played from February 6 to 28.

The Duleep Trophy, which returns to the zonal format, will mark the start of the season and will be run from August 28 to September 15. "The team will be picked by the Zonal Selection Committee," the BCCI added.

The Irani Cup will run from October 1 to 5.

Super League introduced for SMAT, Plate Group reintroduced

The Plate division has been reintroduced in all one-day competitions including the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

Until last season, the knockout games included the standard quarterfinal, semifinal and final stage but from this season, the qualified team will get three extra matches in Super League.

Top team from group A and B will meet in the final. The bottom placed six teams from the last season will form the plate group. The SMAT will be played from November 26 to December 18.

Additionally for all the white ball tournaments, the head to head clause for qualification has been done away with and net run rate will determine which team advances in the competition if they have equal points and wins.

Venues for India-New Zealand white-ball series

The likely venues for the white-ball series against New Zealand from January 11 to 31, 2026 include Hyderabad (first ODI, Jan 11), Rajkot (second ODI, Jan 14), Indore (third ODI, Jan 18, Nagpur (first T20, Jan 21, Ranchi (second T20, Jan 23), Guwahati (third T20, Jan 25), Visakhapatnam (fourth T20, Jan 28), Thiruvananthapuram (fifth T20, Jan 31).