Kolkata, Ahmedabad to host Mushtaq Ali, Hazare knockouts; BCCI confirms two Irani Cup ties

Kolkata and Ahmedabad will host the knockout stages of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) and Vijay Hazare Trophy, respectively, while the BCCI will conduct two Irani Cup ties over the next months.

SMAT, the domestic T20 cricket tournament, will take place from October 11 to November 5 while the Vijay Hazare one-day competition will run from November 12 to December 2.

Lucknow, Indore, Rajkot, Punjab and Jaipur will host the league stage of SMAT while Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, Kolkata and Ranchi will stage the Vijay Hazare league fixtures.

The BCCI is conducting a full-fledged domestic season for the first time since 2020.

The Board also confirmed that the two Irani Cup ties will be held at the start and end of season.

The 2020 Ranji Trophy champions Saurashtra will host Rest of India from October 1-5 while current champions Madhya Pradesh host ROI from March 1-5 next year, as per the scheduled shared by BCCI to State units.

Saurashtra were not able to play the Irani Cup after their maiden Ranji triumph in March 2020 due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.

The inaugural women’s under-15 event will be played from December 26 to January 12 across five venues including Bangalore, Ranchi, Rajkot, Indore, Raipur, Pune.

“BCCI is glad to announce a girls U-15 One Day tournament. This tournament is introduced to create a pathway for our youngsters which will help introduce fresh talent,” read a BCCI note to State units.

The season begins with Duleep Trophy in September 8 to 25.

The premier domestic event, Ranji Trophy, returns to the traditional home and away format and will run from December 12 to February 20.

Teams could only get to play three league games in Ranji Trophy due to a truncated season.