Neutral venues for Indian domestic cricket season

Kolkata to host Ranji final, Delhi to stage Mushtaq Ali final

Kolkata will host the knockouts from February 20

Domestic cricket will played at neutral venues after five years, according to the calendar circulated by the BCCI to the State associations.

The last time the domestic matches were held at neutral venues was in 2016-17. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the forthcoming season will have six hubs hosting a group each.

However, unlike last season, the home team of each hub will play at another venue to make it a level-playing field.

According to the detailed programme, accessed by

The Hindu , the Ranji Trophy, which will return after a year’s hiatus, will be played at Mumbai (Group A), Bengaluru (Group B), Kolkata (Group C), Ahmedabad (Group D), Thiruvananthapuram (Group E) and Chennai (Plate Group).

Kolkata will host the knockouts from February 20, with the final scheduled for March 16 to 20.

The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy group stage will be played at Lucknow (Group A), Guwahati (Group B), Baroda (Group C), Delhi (Group D), Haryana (Group E) and Vijayawada (Plate Group) from Nov. 4 to 9. Delhi will host the knockouts from Nov. 16 to 22.

The calendar: Ranji Trophy: Elite A (Mumbai): Gujarat, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Services, Assam.

Elite B (Bengaluru): Bengal, Vidarbha, Rajasthan, Kerala, Haryana, Tripura.

Elite C (Kolkata): Karnataka, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand.

Elite D (Ahmedabad): Saurashtra, Tamil Nadu, Railways, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Goa.

Elite E (Thiruvananthapuram): Andhra, Uttar Pradesh, Baroda, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Pondicherry.

Plate (Chennai): Chandigarh, Meghalaya, Bihar, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh.

Group stage: January 13 to February 13, 2022.

Knockouts: February 20 to March 20, 2022 (Kolkata).

Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Elite A (Lucknow): Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Maharashtra, Goa, Pondicherry.

Elite B (Guwahati): Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Mumbai, Baroda, Services.

Elite C (Baroda): Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Andhra.

Elite D (Delhi): Railways, Assam, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Bihar.

Elite E (Haryana): Uttar Pradesh, Hyderabad, Uttarakhand, Saurashtra, Delhi, Chandigarh.

Plate Group (Vijayawada): Tripura, Vidarbha, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram.

Group stage: November 4 to 9.

Knockouts: November 16 to 22 (Delhi).

Vijay Hazare Trophy (venues to be announced): Elite A: Gujarat, Andhra, Vidarbha, Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir.

Elite B: Tamil Nadu, Mumbai, Baroda, Bengal, Karnataka, Pondicherry.

Elite C: Hyderabad, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Saurashtra, Haryana.

Elite D: Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Chandigarh, Uttarakhand.

Elite E: Goa, Punjab, Railways, Rajasthan, Services, Assam.

Plate Group: Tripura, Bihar, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur.

Group stage: Dec. 8 to 14.

Knockouts: Dec. 21 to 27.