Kolkata to host Ranji Trophy knockouts

The BCCI has already shared domestic calendar with all the state associations. Kolkata will stage the Ranji Trophy final, Delhi to host Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final.

A general view of the Eden Gardens.

The domestic cricket season will be played at neutral venues due to the pandemic. The last time the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) staged domestic cricket at neutral venues in was in 2016-17, an experiment that hardly impressed any participants. However, owing to the pandemic, the forthcoming season will see six hubs hosting a group each for every tournament for men and women.

The Board has already shared the domestic calendar with all the state associations.

The only difference from the last season has been the home team of each hub will be made to play at another venue, thus making it a level-playing field for every team.

According to the detailed programme, accessed by Sportstar , the Ranji Trophy’s return after a year’s hiatus has been scheduled at Mumbai (Group A), Bengaluru (Group B), Kolkata (Group C), Ahmedabad (Group D), Thiruvananthapuram (Group E) and Chennai (Plate Group).

The league stage has been scheduled from January 13 to February 10 next year.

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Kolkata will host the knockouts from February 20, with the final scheduled from March 16 to 20. Tamil Nadu is placed in Group C along with defending champion Saurashtra, Railways, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand and Goa.

The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy group stage will be played at Lucknow (Group A), Guwahati (Group B), Baroda (Group C), Delhi (Group D), Haryana (Group E) and Vijayawada (Plate Group) from November 4 to 9. Delhi will host the knockouts from November 16 to 22. Tamil Nadu is placed in Group A along with Punjab, Odisha, Maharashtra, Goa and Pondicherry.

While the document doesn’t specify the Vijay Hazare Trophy venues, it has specified the groupings and the venues, just like for all the other tournaments.

Almost 20 state associations have been allotted games for the calendar. The detailed programmes specifies quarantine dates besides the match schedule and the proposed state associations have been asked to confirm availability of venues until September 1.

The calendar Ranji Trophy Elite A (Mumbai): Gujarat, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Services, Assam. Elite B (Bengaluru): Bengal, Vidarbha, Rajasthan, Kerala, Haryana, Tripura. Elite C (Kolkata): Karnataka, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand. Elite D (Ahmedabad): Saurashtra, Tamil Nadu, Railways, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Goa. Elite E (Thiruvananthapuram): Andhra, Uttar Pradesh, Baroda, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Pondicherry. Plate (Chennai): Chandigarh, Meghalaya, Bihar, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh. Group stage: January 13 to February 13, 2022. Knockouts: February 20 to March 20, 2022 (Kolkata). Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Elite A (Lucknow): Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Maharashtra, Goa, Pondicherry. Elite B (Guwahati): Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Mumbai, Baroda, Services. Elite C (Baroda): Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Andhra. Elite D (Delhi): Railways, Assam, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Bihar. Elite E (Haryana): Uttar Pradesh, Hyderabad, Uttarakhand, Saurashtra, Delhi, Chandigarh. Plate Group (Vijayawada): Tripura, Vidarbha, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram. Group stage: November 4 to 9 Knockouts: November 16 to 22 (Delhi). Vijay Hazare Trophy (Venues: to be announced) Elite A: Gujarat, Andhra, Vidarbha, Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir. Elite B: Tamil Nadu, Mumbai, Baroda, Bengal, Karnataka, Pondicherry. Elite C: Hyderabad, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Saurashtra, Haryana. Elite D: Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Chandigarh, Uttarakhand. Elite E: Goa, Punjab, Railways, Rajasthan, Services, Assam. Plate Group: Tripura, Bihar, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur. Group stage: December 8 to 14. Knockouts: December 21 to 27.