The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Apex Council on Saturday (June 14) unveiled the schedule for the upcoming domestic season.

The 2025–26 domestic season will get underway with the Duleep Trophy (August 28, 2025) and culminate with the Senior Women’s Inter-Zonal Multi-Day Trophy (April 3, 2026).

The Duleep Trophy and Senior Women’s Challenger tournaments will now be contested between six zonal teams picked by zonal selectors.

The Ranji Trophy’s Plate Group restructuring has been introduced across age categories. The bottom 6 teams (based on the previous season’s rankings) will be placed in the Plate Group for limited overs tournaments. Only one team will be promoted/relegated between Elite and Plate groups going forward.

The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Senior Women’s T20 Trophy will now have a Super League stage rather than a traditional knockout.

Major tournaments such as Vijay Hazare Trophy, Senior Women’s One Day Trophy, and Men’s U23 State A Trophy will follow a 4 Elite Groups + 1 Plate Group model.

Most junior and women’s tournaments (U16, U19, U23) have shifted to a 5 Elite + 1 Plate group structure.