CHENNAI: Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Thiruvananthapuram and Chennai have been shortlisted as the six cities to host the 2021-22 Ranji Trophy season. The Ranji campaign will begin with matches from January 13-16 while the final will be held from March 16 to 20. The four quarterfinals will be held from February 28 to March 4 while the semifinals will be held from March 8 to 12. Matches in Group A will be held in Mumbai, Group B games will be held in Bengaluru, Group C fixtures in Kolkata, Group D ties in Ahmedabad, Group E matches in Thiruvananthapuram and Plate group games in Chennai. All the knockout matches are slated to be held in Kolkata.
Due to Covid, the Ranji Trophy was not held last season for the first time in its history.
The 38 teams have been divided into five Elite groups of six teams each and one Plate group of eight teams. The winners of the five Elite groups will make it directly to the quarterfinals. For the remaining three spots, the second-placed teams from each Elite group and the winner of the Plate group will play three pre-quarterfinals. The winners of these three pre-quarterfinal matches will complete the quarter-final line-up.
Saurashtra, who were Ranji champions in the 2019-20 season, have been drawn in Group D alongside Tamil Nadu, Railways, Jharkhand, Goa and J&K. The men from Saurashtra will begin their campaign against Goa while TN will take on J&K in their first match.
Domestic heavyweights Mumbai and Delhi have been drawn in Group C.
The Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy will be held from November 4 to 22. The venues for the T20 meet are Lucknow (Elite A), Guwahati (Elite B), Baroda (Elite C), Delhi (Elite D), Haryana (Elite E) and Vijayawada (Plate). Defending champions Tamil Nadu are in Elite Group A in the T20 meet and will open their campaign against Maharashtra.
The Vijay Hazare Trophy, meanwhile, will be held from December 8 to 27. Tamil Nadu are drawn in Elite Group B in the 50-over competition alongside teams like Mumbai and Karnataka.