India's domestic season to kickstart in September

The Senior Women's One Day League will kick start the 2021-22 season of domestic cricket in India, which will begin on September 21, the BCCI announced on Saturday (July 3). The Ranji Trophy, which was canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will be played in a three-month window - from November 16, 2021 to February 19, 2022.

The Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy will be the first event of the men's competitions and will be played from October 20 to November 12. The Vijay Hazare Trophy - India's 50-over tournament for men - will take place from February 23, 2022 to March 26, 2022. Both these tournaments were also held last year, with Tamil Nadu winning the T20 competition and Mumbai emerging victorious in the one-day tournament. Saurashtra are the defending Ranji Trophy champions, having defeated Bengal in the 2019-20 final.

A total of 2127 domestic games will be played in the upcoming season, across various age groups for men and women. A total of 38 teams will participate in the Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, while 37 teams will feature in the senior women's one day and T20 leagues.

"The BCCI is confident of hosting the domestic season with health and safety of players and all people involved being paramount," Jay Shah, the BCCI secretary, said in a release.

The announcement of the domestic competitions will come as a boost for several cricketers, who have struggled during the pandemic times. Their payments were impacted last season, with the BCCI recently announcing the formation of a committee to look into compensation issues.

Men's Domestic Competitions

Women's Domestic Competitions