Ranji Trophy matches from the forthcoming season will have a four-day gap and matches will be held only over the weekend, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said Tuesday.
After a meeting of its tour programme and fixtures committee, the BCCI decided to give adequate rest to the players by giving a gap of four days between Ranji Trophy matches after the third game.
For the last few years, players have been complaining about lack of rest between Ranji Trophy matches.
All Ranji Trophy matches have been scheduled on weekends but that may not be possible for the five remaining matches after the third round, with a four-day gap. The full domestic schedule will be announced July 8.
Vijay Hazare Trophy matches at the knockout stage, and the Deodhar Trophy matches, will be played under lights.
The Under-25 matches will start a day after the Ranji matches, so that players who are not part of the playing XI in the Ranji games, can play the Under-25 games.
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Women's senior tournaments (One-dayers and T20s) will be played on Elite and Plate group basis. Both these tournaments will be played in coloured clothing, and with white balls.
There will be no bonus points in one-day games and SG Test balls will be used for Ranji Trophy and Under-25 matches. Under-16 and Under-19 matches will be played with SG Tournament Special balls.
In the Ranji league phase, every team will play four 'home' and four 'away' games. The Ranji knock-out games will be played at venues which will be identified by the Ground and Pitches Committee, in consultation with the Chairman of the Technical Committee.
Ranji groups for 2013-14
Group A: Mumbai (defending champions), Punjab (semi-finalists), Gujarat, Delhi, Karnataka (quarter-finalists), Orissa, Haryana, Vidarbha, Jharkhand (promoted from Group C)
Group B: Saurashtra (runners-up), Services (semi-finalists, promoted from Group C), Uttar Pradesh (quarter-finalists), Railways, Baroda (quarter-finalists), Madhya Pradesh, Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan
Group C: Hyderabad (relegated), Maharashtra (relegated), Andhra, Assam, Kerala, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Tripura