Ranji Trophy first phase from Feb 10, knockouts from May 30, matches reduced for teams

Shah’s
letter
made
it
clear
that
it
is
set
to
be
one
of
the
shortest
first-class
seasons
with
most
teams
getting
to
play
only
three
matches
which
effectively
means
that
increased
match
fees
will
not
have
an
impact
on
most
of
the
teams
that
will
be
ousted
at
the
group
league
stage.

As
PTI
reported
earlier,
four
teams
each
have
been
divided
into
eight
elite
groups
while
the
remaining
six
form
the
plate
division.
The
new
pay
slabs
offer
those
who
have
played
40-plus
games
Rs
60,000
per
day,
a
significant
hike
from
the
previous
Rs
35,000
per
day
scale.
Those
with
experience
of
21
to
40
matches
will
get
Rs
50,000
per
day.

The
tournament
will
have
64
games
in
62
days
with
the
first
phase
comprising
57
matches
and
the
second
stage
having
seven
knock-out
games,
including
four
quarter-finals,
two
semi-finals
and
the
final.

The
elite
group
matches
will
be
played
in
Rajkot,
Cuttack,
Chennai,
Ahmedabad,
Trivandrum,
Delhi,
Haryana
and
Guwahati.
Plate
league
matches
will
be
held
in
Kolkata,
requiring
nine
bio-secure
bubbles
for
nine
venues.

Each
team
from
elite
group,
barring
one,
will
qualify
for
the
quarterfinals.
The
lowest
ranked
qualified
team
from
elite
group
will
play
the
plate
toppers
in
the
sole
pre-quarterfinal.

The
tournament
was
cancelled
for
the
first
time
ever
last
season
and
this
year,
the
third
wave
of
COVID-19
forced
the
BCCI
to
postpone
the
scheduled
start
of
January
13.
The
last
red
ball
game
in
the
country
took
place
in
March
2020.

In
his
letter
to
state
units,
Shah
wrote:
“I
am
pleased
to
share
that
we
are
now
truly
set
to
resume
both
international
and
domestic
cricket
with
full
thrust.
We
have
waited
patiently
for
the
grip
of
the
pandemic
to
loosen
and
the
time
has
come
for
our
cricketers
to
take
centre
stage
all
over
again.

“The
structure
of
revised
Ranji
Trophy
format
is
now
ready.
We
have
spread
out
the
Ranji
Trophy
to
nine
different
venues
across
the
country
to
mitigate
any
cross
transmission
risk
while
also
ensuring
that
bio-bubbles
are
not
overburdened.”

The
bubbles
have
been
breached
in
the
past
including
during
the
IPL
but
Shah
said
the
board
has
contingency
plans
in
place.
“While
the
persistent
virus
has
still
breached
the
bubble,
we
have
factored
in
contingency
plans
drawing
from
out
past
experience
while
formulating
this
structure,”
Shah
wrote.

Two
stadiums
will
be
used
in
each
of
the
venues
in
elite
groups
while
three
stadiums
will
be
used
in
Kolkata
for
the
plate
group.
Delhi
has
been
clubbed
in
Elite
H
group
also
comprising
Tamil
Nadu,
Jharkhand,
Chattisgarh
with
the
games
to
be
held
in
Guwahati.

Defending
champions
Saurashtra
will
make
the
road
journey
to
Ahmedabad
for
their
group
fixtures.
They
are
in
Elite
D
alongside
Mumbai,
Odisha,
Goa.