CHENNAI: The BCCI has informed its affiliates that the 2020/21 domestic season will start with the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 championship. Whether there will be more tournaments, will be decided later. In an email to the state units on Sunday, board secretary Jay Shah said the T20 tournament will be played from January 10-31.
The event will be staged in six cities under bio-secure environments. The associations of Tamil Nadu and Bengal are confirmed as hosts. Andhra and Karnataka have also received communication from BCCI in this regard. A final call is yet to be taken. Sources in BCCI indicated that Vadodara, Chandigarh/Mohali will most likely be the other venues. While these units confirmed they have made their interests known to the BCCI, they are awaiting confirmation. There are indications that groups will not be formed on a zonal basis.
The BCCI decided to prioritise Mushtaq Ali T20s based on feedback from the state units. Shah had sought their opinion on the domestic season. They were given four options — A) Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s B) Ranji Trophy C) Syed Mushtaq Ali & Ranji Trophy D) Syed Mushtaq Ali & Vijay Hazare Trophy. Because of the pandemic and complications in creating a bio-secure bubble, almost 95 per cent of units picked the options with T20s.
“After having gone through your responses and in accordance with the feedback received, I am pleased to inform you that BCCI is planning to start the domestic season 2020-21 with the scheduling of the T20 tournament for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. By Saturday, January 2, 2021, teams will have to assemble in their respective hub. From Sunday, January 10, the tournament will start and the final will be played on January 31,” Shah wrote in his letter, accessed by Express.
As reported earlier, each city will host six teams, but there could be a slight change in the composition of groups. The units were under the belief that each group would have teams from the same zone as it would limit travel. But that might not be the case as the BCCI might form the groups based on a draw of lots.
There is also a possibility that there won't be any home advantage. Even though these are exceptional times, the BCCI wants to ensure a level-playing field. As result, a host association will have to send its team to another city. For example, Tamil Nadu have been told they will play their group matches in Kolkata. The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association will most likely have a selection committee meeting on December 16.
With regards to Vijay Hazare and Ranji Trophy, the state units believe a clear picture will emerge after the group stage of the T20s. "BCCI will subsequently seek feedback from the members on organising any other domestic tournament after the group stage of Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy," Shah's letter stated.