Sourav Ganguly, president of the BCCI, announced in a letter to the state associations that the Indian Premier League (IPL) and other elite domestic cricket competitions, including the Ranji Trophy, will resume the home-away format as of the upcoming season. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the last three editions of the IPL were either played outside of India or in a small number of Indian cities, like this year. However, now that more matches are expected and the pandemic situation is improving, the BCCI has decided to return to the T20 league's original format.
"The next season of men's IPL will also go back to the home and away format with all ten teams playing their home matches at their designated venues," Ganguly wrote in the letter, which has been accessed by Hindustan Times.
"I am happy to share with you that we are going back to normalcy. You must be aware that this year we will be having the as-usual full-fledged domestic season for all age groups and the games will be hosted all over the country. It is really heartening to see the support that the BCCI has received from all its members over the past few years. I am sure the pandemic is behind us, and we all now look forward to a more certain future."
The home-away system will also be used for India's best domestic competition, the Ranji Trophy, which will get underway on December 13 of this year.
Ganguly stated in the letter that two more Irani Cups will be held this year. In actuality, there will be two tournaments during the 2017 domestic season. “Saurashtra, who were the Ranji Trophy champions for the 2019 - 2020 season will take on the Rest of India team at Rajkot from October 1-5. Madhya Pradesh, who won their maiden Ranji Trophy Championship in the 2021 - 2022 season beating Mumbai at Bengaluru, will participate in their first ever Irani Cup, to be played from March 1-5 next year at Indore," Ganguly wrote.
The former India captain also said that the women's IPL will begin next year. "The BCCI is currently working on the much-awaited Women’s IPL. We are expecting to start the first season early next year. More details on this will follow in the due course," Ganguly wrote.
A U15 girls' white-ball tournament will also be launched by BCCI to aid in the development of female cricketers. "We are glad to introduce a girls U15 One Day tournament from this season. Women's cricket has seen phenomenal growth across the world and our national team has been performing well. This new tournament will create a pathway for our young girls to play at the national and international level," Ganguly said.
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