BCCI planning truncated domestic season, proposes four options to state associations

The Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) has taken the first concrete step towards organising any competitive cricket in India. The governing body is planning to organise a curtailed domestic season owing to the COVID-19 outbreak. And has presented four options to the state associations through an email. The BCCI is expecting the associations to revert with their preferred option by December 2.

In the email, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has specified four options for the truncated domestic cricket season. According to Sportstar, the four options read as follows :

Option 1: Only Ranji Trophy
Option 2: Only Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy
Option 3: Both Ranji Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy
Option 4: Both Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy

Domestic season might kick off from December 20

In the email, the governing body specifies that it is looking to create “six bio-secure hubs across the country.” The BCCI chief adds that the Ranji Trophy will span 67 days, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy will take 22 days and the Vijay Hazare Trophy requires 28 days for completion.

“The BCCI will have to create a total of six bio-secure hubs across the country. The 38 teams will be divided into five Elite groups and one Plate group. The Elite groups will consist of six teams each while the Plate group will have eight teams,” the email reads.

The proposed window for the competitions are January 11 to March 18 for the Ranji Trophy, December 20 to January 10 fpr the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy is to be organised from January 11 to February 7. The email firther specifies that each of the six staging cities will have to have at least three digital broadcast-friendly venues.

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