BCCI announces reforms for 2024-25 domestic cricket season, Ranji to be two-phased

MUMBAI: The upcoming domestic cricket season 2024-25 season will feature an increased gap between matches in order to allow sufficient recovery time for players and ensure peak performances throughout the season and the prestigious Ranji Trophy will be played in two phases. The domestic season 2024-25 dates, though yet to be announced officially by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), will witness some new reforms, which are subject to approval by BCCI's Apex Council.

"The season will kick off with the Duleep Trophy tournament, featuring four teams selected by national selectors. Following this, the Irani Cup tournament will take place. After these, two tournaments will be held, the first five league games (per team) of the Ranji Trophy, followed by the T20 competition, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the 50-over tournament, Vijay Hazare Trophy.

The season will conclude with the remaining two league games of the Ranji trophy and knockout stages," said the statement from board's secretary Jay Shah. Also, in the CK Nayadu Trophy, a domestic-level under-23 state tournament, a new point system will be introduced to make sure performances get more balanced. "This includes awarding points for batting and bowling performances in the first innings, in addition to points for the first innings lead or outright win," said Shah.

"A review will be conducted at the end of the season to assess the effectiveness of the new points system, with a decision on whether to implement it in the Ranji Trophy for the following season," added the statement.

Also, the toss will no longer take place in CK Nayadu Trophy games, instead, the visiting games will be given a right to decide if they want to bat or bowl first. Also, all Women's Interzonal tournaments, including one-day, T20, and Multiday formats, will have teams selected by the national selectors. Lastly, in order to make sure players get full game time, careful consideration has been given to scheduling matches to minimise the impact of weather disruptions.

These recommendations have been given by a working group set up to bring reforms in domestic cricket, consisting of India men's head coach Rahul Dravid, National Cricket Academy chief VVS Laxman, men's chief selector Ajit Agarkar and former India pacer Abey Kuruvilla, the BCCI general manager - domestic cricket. They need the approval of the BCCI Apex Council for implementation.

"The recommendations of the working group will be implemented in domestic cricket, subject to approval by the Apex Council," Shah said.