Ranji Trophy starts on Oct 11, domestic season to open with Duleep Trophy from Aug 23

The BCCI has announced the 2026-27 domestic season schedule, featuring 1788 games across various age groups and senior cricket segments, starting from August 23.

The Ranji Trophy will once again be played in two phases with the opening round starting on October 11 while the 2026-27 domestic season will commence with the Duleep Trophy starting August 23, the BCCI announced on Wednesday.

The BCCI will be organizing 1788 games across age-group and senior cricket segments during the season, which include U-16, U-19, U-23, senior level for men and U-15, U-19, U-23 and senior level for the women.

Keeping up with the demand of time, the U-23 white ball competition and the Inter-zonal University meet for Vizzy Trophy will be played in T20 format going forward.

''The 2026-27 domestic season reflects the BCCI's continued commitment to building a strong and competitive domestic structure while ensuring a balanced progression across formats and categories,'' the board stated in release.

The Duleep Trophy, which is back in zonal format, will be played between August 23 to September 10. The entire tournament will be held at BCCI's Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.

The Irani Cup between Ranji Trophy champions Jammu and Kashmir and Rest of India will be played from October 1 to 5 in Srinagar.

The blue riband event of BCCI's domestic calendar - the Ranji Trophy - will have its first phase between October 11 to November 5 in which four rounds will be held.

The second phase between January 17 to March 3, 2027, will happen after the completion of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (National T20s) and Vijay Hazare Trophy (National 50-over meet).

The SMAT will be held between November 14 to December 6. The four venues for the league stages are Mumbai, Mohali, Vizag and Kolkata. The knock-out stage will be held in Nagpur.

The timing of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy will allow the talent scouts to prepare their lists before the IPL auction which will be held sometime in December.

The Vijay Hazare Trophy will be held from December 14, 2026 to January 8, 2027.

A good decision taken by BCCI's scheduling team is to have the Vijay Merchant Trophy (U16) being played from November to January, allowing for improved scheduling and player preparation.

This also helps the school cricketers to prepare for their annual or board exams which are generally held in February and March.