Reports | BCCI plans to extend Ranji season until June next year; zonal format in consideration

The prevailing Coronavirus situation in India has had a spiralling effect on every single event in the country and even as the IPL moved to the UAE, there is no clarity yet on the domestic season. While it is widely known that the BCCI would shelve a part of the season to accommodate for a full Ranji Trophy season - the biggest revenue generator for the players on the domestic circuit - ESPN Cricinfo reported that the season might be extended until June next year to manage for every single event.

"We are trying to get as much of the domestic season in as possible. It's obviously impossible to start right away, and there's also the matter of the IPL going to UAE. But we are trying to get a schedule in place. We will not be able to have everything this year, and we will only be able to start in November maybe. But the idea is to have a priority list of tournaments, and the Ranji Trophy is right on top of that list,” a board official told ESPNcricinfo.

"Whether we hold it in its current form or a truncated version, we don't know yet. We don't even know how much of a window we will have. That will depend on when we can start and till when we can go on, if we have the next IPL on schedule in April-May."

In the 2019-20 season, the BCCI hosted 2036 games across various age groups in the men's and women's categories which in all probability would be cut down by 70%. The publication also reported that there is a probability that the domestic season would go back to the zonal days to accomodate for the travel and other logistical challenges involved due to the pandemic.

"It's impossible to confirm anything till we know all these things," the BCCI official, however, said.