MUMBAI: The BCCI has come out with the schedule of what will be a bumper domestic season for Indian cricket in 2018-19, consisting of more than 2000 matches. The season kicks off in August with the Duleep Trophy across various age groups in the men’s and women’s category.
The spike in the number of matches has a lot to do with the induction of 9 new teams in the Ranji Trophy from the North East region in the Plate Group category namely Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Puducherry, Sikkim & Uttarakhand.
A total of 37 teams will be participating in the competition, with the other 28 teams split across the Elite Groups A, B and C.
The top team that qualifies for quarter-finals from the Plate group will be promoted to Elite Group C in the next season. The top two teams that qualify for the quarter-finals from Elite Group C will be promoted to Elite Group A & B in the next season.
Following the Irani Trophy which is contested between the Ranji Trophy champions and the Rest of India, the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 trophy will be held with 37 teams as well. The tournament usually has been a great opportunity for youngsters to showcase their talent ahead of the IPL.
The Col C K Nayudu Trophy, Vinoo Mankad Trophy, Cooch Behar Trophy and Vizzy Trophy (Inter-university competition) will cater to the young and budding talent of the country.
On the other hand, the senior women’s team will commence their domestic season with the T20 Challenger Trophy. Women’s cricket, including the U-23 and U-19 category, will contribute to 860 out of the 2017 matches to be contested in 2018-19 across India.
