Champions of the previous two Ranji Trophy editions – Jammu & Kashmir and Vidarbha – have been clubbed together along with Madhya Pradesh in the same group as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the detailed calendar for the forthcoming domestic season.

While defending champion Jammu & Kashmir will be hoping to defend its crown by finishing in top two in Group A, Karnataka is one of the three southern teams to be placed in Group B along with familiar foe Saurashtra. Tamil Nadu, after a mediocre campaign in the last season, will have to upstage domestic giant Mumbai along with consistent sides like Uttarakhand, Haryana and Railways in a bid to make it to the knockouts from Group D.

The seven-month-long season will begin with the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru hosting the Duleep Trophy and cap off with the Women’s Inter-Zonal Multi-Day tournament on March 28 mext year.

The BCCI has altered the Under-23 (A) limited overs tournament from 50-overs-a-side to a T20 tournament. The tournament, scheduled to begin on December 1, will thus offer an additional opportunity for the Indian Premier League franchisees’ talent scouts to witness promising domestic cricketers ahead of the IPL Auction.

The groups: Ranji Trophy: Elite: Group A: Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, Baroda, Uttar Pradesh, Pondicherry, Goa, Bihar.

Group B: Karnataka, Andhra, Saurashtra, Chhattisgarh, Hyderabad, Tripura, Punjab, Assam.

Group C: Bengal, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Services, Gujarat, Kerala, Delhi, Odisha.

Group D: Uttarakhand, Mumbai, Haryana, Railways, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh.

Plate: Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh.

Vijay Hazare Trophy:

Elite:

Group A: Vidarbha, Madhya Pradesh, Baroda, Railways, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Andhra, Bihar.

Group B: Saurashtra, Mumbai, Haryana, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Hyderabad, Services.

Group C: Punjab, Delhi, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Goa, Rajasthan, Chandigarh.

Group D: Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Bengal, Tripura, Odisha, Assam, Pondicherry.

Plate: Sikkim, Manipur, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram.

Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy:

Elite:

Group A: Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Baroda, Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Mizoram.

Group B: Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, Railways, Tamil Nadu, Saurashtra, Bihar.

Group C: Andhra, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Pondicherry, Kerala, Assam, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh.

Group D: Hyderabad, Mumbai, Goa, Gujarat, Vidarbha, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh.

Plate: Services, Sikkim, Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh.t

Major men’s tournaments for 2026-27

Duleep Trophy: August 23 to September 10 (Bengaluru, CoE); Irani Cup: October 1 to October 5 (Jammu or Srinagar); Ranji Trophy: League stage leg 1: October 11 to November 5; Leg 2: January 17 to February 4, 2027; Knockouts: February 9 to March 3; Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: League stage: November 14 to 26 (Mumbai, Visakhapatnam, Kolkata, Mohali, Dimapur); November 30 to December 6 (Nagpur). Vijay Hazare Trophy: League Stage: December 14 to 29 (Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Ranchi, Rajkot, Indore); Knockouts: January 2 to 8, 2027 (Visakhapatnam).

Major women’s tournaments

Senior Women’s T20 Trophy: League stage: October 26 to November 6 (Lucknow, Pune, Delhi, Mohali); Knockouts: November 14 to 20 (Ahmedabad); Senior Women’s Inter-Zonal T20 Trophy: November 24 to December 4 (Guwahati); Senior Women’s One-Day Trophy: League stage: December 19 to 31 (Cuttack, Jaipur, Baroda, Raipur), Knockouts: January 4 to 10 (Chennai); Senior Women’s Inter-Zonal One-Day Trophy: February 17 to 27, 2027 (Chennai). Senior Women’s Inter-Zonal Multi-Day Trophy: March 13 to 28, 2027 (Dehradun).