After a three-year hiatus, the inter-zonal 50-over competition known as the Deodhar Trophy is back.
The inter-zonal first-class competition, the Duleep Trophy, will begin the 2023–24 calendar on June 28—the earliest start ever for an Indian domestic season—while the inter-zonal 50–over the competition, the Deodhar Trophy, will make a three-year comeback. The Ranji Trophy, which will occur from January 5 to March 14, will conclude the 1846-match season.
Six zones will be used for the Duleep Trophy and Deodhar Trophy games: Central, South, North, East, West, and North-East. On October 1, Saurashtra, the reigning Ranji Trophy winner, and the Rest of India will face off in the Irani Cup.
The domestic T20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy will begin on October 16 and last until November 6, while the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy will be played between November 23 and December 15. There will be 38 teams total in all events, split into two groups of seven and three groups of eight.
The Senior Women’s T20 Trophy, played from October 19 to November 9, will start the domestic women’s cricket season. The Senior Women’s Inter-Zonal Trophy will come next, beginning November 24 and lasting until December 4.
The Senior Women’s One-Day Trophy will resume on January 4 following a one-month break. The championship game will take place on January 26.
The Under-19 Women’s T20 Challenger Trophy, Under-19 Women’s Quadrangular, Senior Women’s T20 Challenger Trophy, and Inter-Zonal One Day Tournament were played last season, are not on the calendar for this year.
Like the previous year, there will be two divisions for the Ranji Trophy: elite and plate. The 32 teams in the select group will be divided into four eight groups. The bottom two clubs in all four groups combined will be demoted to the plate division for the upcoming season, while Each group’s top two teams will proceed to the next round of quarterfinals.
Six teams will compete in the plate group, with the top four moving to the semifinals. The two winners will advance to the top division the following year.
There will be three groups of seven teams each for the Senior Women’s One-Day Trophy and two groups of eight for the T20 Trophy. The top two teams from each group in both events will advance to the knockout rounds. The top six teams among them will go directly to the quarterfinals, while teams 7 through 10 will compete in the pre-quarterfinals. The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy will use the same knockout format.
The league phase’s top two clubs will advance to the final of the Senior Women’s Inter-Zonal T20 Cup, which will be played between six zones.
The Duleep Trophy competition will launch Indian cricket’s domestic season in 2023–24 on June 28. The premier Ranji Trophy is scheduled to begin on January 5 of the following year.
The Deodhar Trophy (List A), the Irani Cup, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for the men’s T20 national championships (October 16–November 6), and the Vijay Hazare Trophy will follow the Duleep Trophy, which will include six zonal teams (November 23–December 15).
The final competition for senior men will be the Ranji Trophy, with the top league matches from January 5 to February 19 and the knockout phase from February 23 to March 14. The competition lasts for 70 days.
While the elimination phase will take place from February 9 to 22, the plate group league matches will occur between January 5 and February 5.
The sole plate group will have six teams, while each of the four elite groups will consist of eight teams. Each group’s top two teams will proceed to the successive quarterfinal round.
The top four teams from the plate group’s six will advance to the semifinals.
The two plate group champions will advance to the elite group the following season (2024–25). In the 2024–25 season, the two worst teams across all select groups combined, based on points, bonus points, wins, and quotient, will be demoted to the plate group.
On October 19, the Senior Women’s Meet will begin.
The Inter-Zonal T20 Trophy will be held from November 24 to December 4 after the national T20 championships, which will take place between October 19 and November 9, kick off the senior women’s season.
The senior women’s one-day Trophy, which will be played between January 4 and 26, will come after.
There will be five groups for the senior women’s T20 Trophy and one-day Trophy, two with eight teams and three with seven. During the knockout rounds, the top two teams from each of the five groups will advance.
Based on their points, victories, and NRR, the teams will be ranked 1–10 following the group matches. Teams in positions 1-6 will advance directly to the quarterfinals, while teams in positions 7–10 will compete for two additional spots in a pre-quarterfinal round.
