What are the new rules introduced by BCCI for the 2025–26 domestic season?
BCCI has made some big changes for the 2025–26 domestic season, bringing back zonal teams for the Duleep Trophy and tweaking formats in white-ball games. The season will run from August 28, 2025, to April 3, 2026.
.webp&w=3840&q=81)
Be a winner today!
Get the latest cricket updates, Join our community
BCCI Announces Big Changes for 2025–26 Domestic Cricket Season: Full Schedule Out
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has changed and took some big updates for the 2025–26 domestic season, along with the full schedule. One of the main changes is that the Duleep Trophy will go back to its old format zonal teams picked by zonal selectors. Last season, it was played between four mixed Indian teams, but now it will once again be North, South, East, West, and Central Zones competing.
In the Ranji Trophy, the promotion system has been made stricter. Now, only one team from the Plate Group will move up to the Elite Group, and only one team will drop down. This means fewer teams will change groups this season.
There’s also a new twist in India’s domestic T20 tournament, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Instead of knockout matches after the group stage, there will now be a Super League. The top 8 teams from the group stage will be split into two groups of four. Each team will play 3 matches in their group, and the group winners will face off in the final. This same format will also be used for the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy.
New Grouping for One-Day Tournaments
The Vijay Hazare Trophy, Senior Women’s One Day Trophy, and Men’s U23 State A Trophy will now have a new group format. Earlier, the Vijay Hazare Trophy had five groups of uneven sizes. From now on, all three tournaments will have four Elite Groups and one Plate Group. Teams have been grouped based on their past performances how many matches they won, their total points, and their net run rate. Teams that don’t perform well will be pushed down to the Plate Group for the next season’s limited-overs tournaments.
ALSO READ: MPL 2025, Match 19: Ratnagiri Jets vs Satara Warriors Full Match Highlights
When Does the Season Start?
The new domestic season will kick off on August 28, 2025, with the Duleep Trophy, and will end on April 3, 2026, with the Senior Women’s Inter-Zonal Multi-Day Trophy. The entire season will run for a little over five months, packed with exciting matches across all formats.
Key Changes in Indian Domestic Cricket for the 2025–26 Season
The BCCI has made several important updates to the domestic cricket structure for the 2025–26 season. These changes are aimed at making the competitions more competitive and better organized.
Major Updates at a Glance
| Change | Details |
|---|---|
| Duleep Trophy Format | Back to zonal format, to be played from August 28 to September 15. |
| Squad Selection for Duleep Trophy | Teams will now be selected by Zonal Selection Committees, not by the National Selection Committee. |
| Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy & Senior Women’s T20 Trophy | A Super League stage has been introduced — the top two teams from Groups A and B will play in the final. |
| Plate Division Returns | The Plate Group has been reintroduced in all domestic one-day tournaments and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. It will include the bottom six teams from last season. |
| New Tie-Breaker Rule | The head-to-head rule has been removed. Now, Net Run Rate (NRR) will decide which team progresses when points are tied. |
2025–26 Key Tournament Schedule
| Tournament | League Start | League End | Knockout Start | Knockout End |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duleep Trophy | — | — | 28 Aug 2025 | 15 Sep 2025 |
| Irani Cup | — | — | 01 Oct 2025 | 05 Oct 2025 |
| Ranji Trophy – Elite | 15 Oct – 19 Nov 2025 (Phase 1)22 Jan – 01 Feb 2026 (Phase 2) | — | 06 Feb 2026 | 28 Feb 2026 |
| Ranji Trophy – Plate | 15 Oct 2025 | 19 Nov 2025 | 22 Jan 2026 | 26 Jan 2026 |
| Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy – Elite | 26 Nov 2025 | 08 Dec 2025 | 12 Dec 2025 | 18 Dec 2025 |
| Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy – Plate | 26 Nov 2025 | 04 Dec 2025 | 06 Dec 2025 | 06 Dec 2025 |
| Vijay Hazare Trophy – Elite | 24 Dec 2025 | 08 Jan 2026 | 12 Jan 2026 | 18 Jan 2026 |
| Vijay Hazare Trophy – Plate | 24 Dec 2025 | 03 Jan 2026 | 06 Jan 2026 | 06 Jan 2026 |
| Senior Women’s T20 Trophy – Elite | 08 Oct 2025 | 19 Oct 2025 | 25 Oct 2025 | 31 Oct 2025 |
| Senior Women’s T20 Trophy – Plate | 08 Oct 2025 | 15 Oct 2025 | 17 Oct 2025 | 17 Oct 2025 |
| Senior Women’s One Day Trophy – Elite | 06 Feb 2026 | 18 Feb 2026 | 22 Feb 2026 | 28 Feb 2026 |
| Senior Women’s One Day Trophy – Plate | 06 Feb 2026 | 14 Feb 2026 | 16 Feb 2026 | 16 Feb 2026 |
India vs New Zealand 2026: Probable ODI & T20I Venues
| Match | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1st ODI | Hyderabad | Jan 11 |
| 2nd ODI | Rajkot | Jan 14 |
| 3rd ODI | Indore | Jan 18 |
| 1st T20I | Nagpur | Jan 21 |
| 2nd T20I | Ranchi | Jan 23 |
| 3rd T20I | Guwahati | Jan 25 |
| 4th T20I | Visakhapatnam | Jan 28 |
| 5th T20I | Thiruvananthapuram | Jan 31 |
Tags:
