Ahead of the 2025-26 season, the BCCI brought some significant tweaks to India’s domestic cricket structure. These tweaks will further refine the existing tournaments.
So let’s understand the key changes made in the Indian domestic cricket structure here.
Duleep Trophy Reverts to Zonal Format
First up is the Duleep Trophy. The first-class tournament starts the domestic season on August 28.
Unlike last year, the competition will rather feature the zonal format. So, you will see six zonal teams – Central, East, North, North East, South, and West – in action. The zonal selectors will select the squads for these teams.
You can find the Duleep Trophy 2025-26 squads here.
Senior Women’s Interzonal Tournaments Follow Along
Interzonal tournaments contested by senior women’s teams will also see the zonal format in place. The six zonal teams will feature in the T20, one-day, and multi-day interzonal tournaments.
The T20 competition will run from November 4 to 14, 2025, while the one-day version will take place from February 6 to 16, 2026. And the multi-day tournament will wrap up the season between March 20 and April 3, 2026.
Super League Stage in SMAT and Senior Women’s T20 Trophy
The zonal tournaments aren’t the only ones to see format changes. Men’s and women’s state T20 tournaments will face some overhaul.
The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) and the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy won’t feature the usual knockout stage any more. Rather, they will have a Super League stage. This will apply to only elite group tournaments.
So the Super League will feature eight teams – two each from four elite groups. These teams will be split into two groups of four each.
The teams will battle among their group members to decide the two finalists. The table toppers of both groups will compete in the final.
Plate Groups Restructured
The plate group has been restructured across all tournaments. Now, six lower-ranked teams will feature in the plate group.
The plate group teams will be determined in the following manner.
For multi-day tournaments: Total points -> bonus points -> wins -> head-to-head record -> quotient
For limited-overs tournaments: Total points -> wins -> net run rate
The total points earned by teams in the previous season will take precedence. If two or more teams have the same points, then other criteria will come into play.
New Groups Introduced Across Major Tournaments
With the plate group restructured, major limited-overs tournaments will see a new group structure in place.
The senior men’s and women’s white-ball competitions will have four elite groups and one plate group.
The junior men’s and women’s competitions will instead feature five elite groups and one plate group.
Here is the new group structure for all tournaments:
Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy, & SMAT
– Elite: Four groups of eight teams each
– Plate: One group of six teams
Col. C K Nayudu Trophy & Men’s U23 State A Trophy
– Elite: Three groups of eight teams each and one group of seven teams
– Plate: One group of six teams
Vinoo Mankad Trophy, Cooch Behar Trophy, & Vijay Merchant Trophy
– Elite: Five groups of six teams each
– Plate: One group of six teams
Senior Women’s T20 & One-Day Trophies
– Elite: Three groups of eight teams each and one group of seven teams
– Plate: One group of six teams
Women’s U23 T20 Trophy, Women’s U23 One-Day Trophy, & Women’s U15 One-Day Trophy
– Elite: Five groups of six teams each
– Plate: One group of six teams
Promotion and Relegation Tweaked
From this season onwards, a new promotion and relegation rule will make its mark.
Now, only one team will get promotion from the plate group, while one team will face relegation from the elite group. This tweak is in contrast to the two teams moving in and out of the elite and plate groups.
Promotion and Relegation in Domestic Tournaments
Elite Group: One lower-ranked team relegated to the plate group for the next season
Plate Group: The winner promoted to the elite group for the next season
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