Defending champions Saurashtra face Mumbai in the first round of the Ranji Trophy in Ahmedabad, with Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane in their respective squads.
There will be a five-day quarantine before the first round of matches in the Ranji Trophy, which will begin on February 17 after the BCCI seeks to stage the 38-team event across nine bio-bubbles during the COVID-19 pandemic. For this reason, as well as to avoid a potential time conflict with the IPL, the BCCI stated that the Ranji Trophy would be split into two parts: one before and one after the IPL. The board of directors of the nine host groups received “staging guidelines” on Tuesday.
At least 20 players and a maximum of 10 support staff members are allowed in each squad, according to the five-page document that the PTI has in its possession.
Teams are allowed to bring two COVID reserves per squad, with the playing XI receiving 100% of match money while the remaining nine players receive 50% of match fees.
With the inclusion of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane on their respective sides, the first-round match between Saurashtra and Mumbai in Ahmedabad will be much awaited.
As of Tuesday, the Saurashtra squad included Pujara while the Mumbai team included Rahane.
They both need huge runs to get their Test careers back on track and a Ranji Trophy hundred could be just the thing to help them do that. On February 10, all of the teams will meet at their designated locations, and the players will then be required to undergo a five-day quarantine. After the second and fifth days of RT-PCR testing, the teams will have two days of practice on February 15 and 16.
Pre-quarterfinal games will begin on March 11 and last for five days. They will be contested in the first phase. In order to participate in the only round-of-16 match, the teams will be subjected to a four-day quarantine period.
There will be quarterfinals, semis, and finals in the second phase of the Ranji Trophy beginning May 30 as previously scheduled.
Having a physician on hand to deal with COVID-19-related concerns is recommended by the guidelines. As a result, BCCI has raised the match-day hosting fees to Rs 1.25 lakh ($1,250). It used to cost Rs. 5 lakh for the entire game, but now it’s just Rs. 3 lakh.
A total of 32 teams have been divided into eight elite groups of four, while the plate division consists of six teams.
There will be a pre-quarterfinal matchup between the plate group winner and the lowest-ranked qualified team from each of the eight Elite Groups. In the first phase, there will be 57 games, and in the second, there will be seven.
More than a dozen cities throughout India will host competitions in the months leading up to the World Cup.
