The upcoming domestic cricket season (2024–25) will have longer intervals between games in order to give players more time to recover and maintain optimum performances throughout the season. Additionally, the prestigious Ranji Trophy will be played in two phases. However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has not yet made an official announcement regarding the dates of the domestic season 2024–25, but there will be certain major reforms that the Apex Council of the BCCI must approve.
Jay Shah, secretary, BCCI, said, “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.”
New point system for under-23 cricket
The statement further added that a review will be conducted at the end of the season to assess the effectiveness of the new point system with a decision on whether to implement it in the Ranji Trophy.
Additionally, a new point system will be implemented in the domestic under-23 state tournament, CK Nayadu Trophy, to ensure that performances become more evenly distributed. “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. The toss will also 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.
Furthermore, national selectors will choose teams for all Women’s Interzonal tournaments, including one-day, T20, and multi day forms.
Addressing fog disruptions in matches
In addition to this, matches have been carefully scheduled to reduce the impact of weather disruptions in order to guarantee that players receive their entire game time.
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.