Much effort went behind the scene to get first-class cricket back on track: BCCI secretary Jay Shah

By ANI

NEW DELHI : Jay Shah, the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), on Thursday said that a lot of hard work went behind the scenes to get Ranji Trophy back on track. India’s premier red-ball domestic tournament Ranji Trophy resumed after a hiatus of two years on Thursday.

“Have been eagerly waiting for this day as India Cricket’s premier domestic tournament, the #RanjiTrophy returns. A lot of effort has gone behind the scenes to get our first-class cricket back on track, and it is now time to let red-ball take centre stage. Good luck, everyone,” Jay Shah tweeted.

Have been eagerly waiting for this day as India Cricket’s premier domestic tournament, the #RanjiTrophy returns. A lot of effort has gone behind the scenes to get our first class cricket back on track, and it is now time to let red-ball take centre stage.

Good luck, everyone

— Jay Shah (@JayShah) February 17, 2022

The Ranji Trophy would be held in two phases and now it has been confirmed that the pre-Indian Premier League (IPL) phase would run from February 10 to March 15. The post-IPL-phase would run from May 30 to June 26. The Ranji Trophy this season would see 64 matches being played across 62 days.

There are eight Elite Groups and one Plate Group. There would be four teams in Elite Groups and six teams would make up the Plate Group. One team from each Elite Group will qualify for the quarterfinal stages. The lowest-ranked of the eight qualified teams will have to play a pre-quarterfinal with the top team from the Plate Group.

In a high-voltage clash, Saurashtra and Mumbai are locking horns in the Ranji Trophy and the contest is witnessing Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara squaring off.