Ranji Trophy 2024-25: Everything you need to know about new two-phase format
Players had complained about the jampacked schedule with no recovery time.
After the Duleep Trophy and Irani Trophy, the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 season will begin on October 11 with a tweak to its usual structure. The Board of Control for Cricket in India had decided that the tournament would be held in two phases against the previous version of one phase. Moreover, the white-ball tournaments such as the Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy coincide with the Ranji Trophy.
Per BCCI’s new structure, each team will play five games in the first phase of the Ranji season until November 13. Then, the tournament will make way for the Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, which will be held in T20 and 50-over formats, respectively. The second phase of the Ranji Trophy will commence on January 23, which includes knock-out phases, and the final is scheduled for February 26 to March 2.
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There were only three days of leeway between the Ranji games and players had complained about the jampacked schedule with no recovery time. The notable criticism came at the end of Shardul Thakur and Rahul Dravid. For the 2024-25 season, the gap between the games has increased from three to four days.
Ranji Trophy Format:
The oldest domestic tournament in India has 38 teams divided into five groups. Elite A, Elite B, Elite C, and Elite D are the four groups, each consisting of eight teams. The other six teams are placed in the Plate group. Each group has its own table, and a particular team will play against every team in its respective group.
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Two teams from every Elite group will enter the knockout, which consists of quarter-finals, and the side emerging victorious will move to a further stage. Speaking of Plate Group, the top two teams will be promoted to feature in the Elite Group for the subsequent season, and the teams that finish in the last two positions in the Elite Group will be demoted to Palte Group for the next season.
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