Ranji Trophy to be Held in Two Phases, Says BCCI Secretary
The need for the Ranji Trophy to be held in two phases became necessary because the BCCI also plans to host the IPL from March 27.
On Friday, BCCI secretary Jay Shah said that the postponed Ranji Trophy will be held in two phases from next month, clearing the decks for India's premier domestic competition which will resume after the cancellation of last season.
It is expected that the 33-team tournament will start in the second week of February and the first phase will last for about a month. The tournament, which was not held last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, was scheduled to begin on January 13 but was postponed due to a third wave of infections across the country.
In a statement, Shah said, "My team working closely to mitigate any kind of health risk caused by the pandemic, while ensuring a highly competitive red-ball cricket contest. Ranji Trophy is our most prestigious domestic competition, which has been providing Indian Cricket with an enviable talent pool."
On Thursday, BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal said, "We are exploring the possibility of staging Ranji Trophy, cases were going up when it was postponed, now they seem to be coming down. The operations team is working on whether we can do the league stage next month and complete the rest of the tournament later (post IPL)."
