The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced that India’s domestic cricket season will begin earlier than usual, on June 28, 2023.The earliest-ever domestic cricket season will feature 1846 matches across several tournaments, with the Ranji Trophy marking the end of the season on March 14, 2024.The inter-zonal 50-over Deodhar Trophy will also make a return after a three-year hiatus, while the Duleep Trophy will commence the season, played across six zones – Central, South, North, East, West, and North-East. The defending Ranji Trophy champions, Saurashtra, will play the Rest of India in the Irani Cup, which will begin on October 1.The Ranji Trophy, India’s most prestigious domestic tournament, will commence on January 5 and feature 32 teams split into four groups of eight each. Just like last season, it will be played in two divisions – elite and plate.
The top two teams from each group in the elite division will qualify for the quarter-finals, while the bottom two teams across all four groups will be relegated to the plate division next season. The plate division will feature six teams, with the top four proceeding to the semi-finals. The two finalists will be promoted to the elite division next year. In the women’s domestic season, the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy will kick off proceedings on October 19 and run until November 9.The Senior Women’s Inter-Zonal Trophy will begin on November 24 and conclude on December 4, followed by the Senior Women’s One-Day Trophy, which will commence on January 4 with the final scheduled for January 26.However, this year’s schedule will not feature the Senior Women’s T20 Challenger Trophy, Senior Women’s Inter-Zonal One Day Trophy, Under-19 Women’s T20 Challenger Trophy, and Under-19 Women’s Quadrangular. The domestic T20 tournament, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, will commence on October 16 and run until November 6, with the 50-over tournament, the Vijay Hazare Trophy, being played between November 23 and December 15.Both tournaments will feature 38 teams, divided into two groups of seven teams and three groups of eight teams.
