BCCI Plans Two Home Matches in Raipur to Boost Local Cricket

BCCI's Initiative to Promote Cricket in Raipur

Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India], June 15: Rajiv Shukla, the vice-president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), announced plans for two home matches for the Indian Cricket Team in Raipur, aimed at enhancing cricket's popularity in the region.

During the 28th Apex Council meeting held on Saturday, the BCCI approved the venues for the upcoming home white-ball series featuring India and New Zealand.

Shukla expressed, “We are committed to promoting cricket in Chhattisgarh. Two matches will take place here, one against South Africa and another against New Zealand. This is a significant milestone for Raipur.”

The Apex Council confirmed that the white-ball series against New Zealand is set for early 2026, featuring three ODIs in Baroda (January 11), Rajkot (January 14), and Indore (January 18), along with five T20Is in Nagpur (January 21), Raipur (January 23), Guwahati (January 25), Vizag (January 28), and Trivandrum (January 31).

Additionally, the BCCI approved the Domestic Season for 2025-26, commencing with the Duleep Trophy on August 28, 2025, and concluding with the Senior Women’s Inter-Zonal Multi-Day Trophy on April 3, 2026.

Several significant changes to domestic cricket tournaments were also announced:

* The Duleep Trophy and Senior Women’s Challenger tournaments will now feature six zonal teams selected by zonal selectors.

* A restructuring of the Plate Group will be implemented across various age categories, with the bottom six teams from the previous season's rankings placed in the Plate Group for limited-overs tournaments.

* Updated promotion/relegation rules will allow only one team to move between the Elite and Plate groups in the future.

* The tournament format for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Senior Women’s T20 Trophy will now include a Super League stage instead of the traditional knockout format.

* Major tournaments like the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Senior Women’s One Day Trophy, and Men’s U23 State A Trophy will adopt a structure of four Elite Groups and one Plate Group, while most junior and women’s tournaments (U16, U19, U23) will transition to a five Elite and one Plate group format.

The Apex Council has also decided to create a Working Group of five 'Umpire Coaches' to enhance umpire development and performance on the field. These coaches will be required to have international umpiring experience.

Moreover, a separate Working Group of three former Match Referees will be established to oversee the development of match referees and provide them with opportunities for performance improvement in cricket matches.