The Indian domestic season will finally get underway in January 2021 with the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 trophy starting from January 10 onwards. The teams will assemble in their bio-hubs on January 2 and the final is set to be played on January 31.

The BCCI informed the state associations of the decision to organize the T20 tournament through the mail after having sought feedback from them on how the state bodies wish to see the domestic season pan out.

The BCCI secretary said: "The BCCI will subsequently seek further feedback from the members on organizing any other domestic tournament/tournaments and a decision will be taken after the group stage of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The Members are requested to factor a subsequent tournament in their planning and make the arrangements accordingly.”

Also, the last date for the Inter-state transfer and registration of Guest players are hereby extended till December 20, 2020. Further details pertaining to the tournament for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy will be shared in due course with the members."

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The state association previously had said that the T20 tournament would be the ideal choice to begin the domestic season which has been severely impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020. A state association official had explained the reason behind state bodies backing the hosting of the T20 tournament, to begin with.

"The pandemic is a definite matter of concern since the king term effects of the disease are still not clear. You don't want the players to be exposed to this. The parents are also concerned and a couple of parents withdrew their children from the camp that we were conducting because of the concern.

"The T20 format gives you the option of a smaller window in time and therefore is the preferred format in these circumstances if a tournament is indeed conducted," the official told ANI.

(ANI inputs)