Postponed Ranji Trophy likely to start in mid-February

In a positive development for the country's first-class cricketers, the Ranji Trophy that was postponed due to rising Covid-19 cases, is set to resume in mid-February. mid-day has learnt that the BCCI top brass are set to meet next week to finalise the dates and release the revised schedule.

It is learnt that certain players have been informed by their respective state associations that they are likely to go into a three-day quarantine phase from February 10 or 11. Accordingly, players have been told to start their fitness preparations so that they are ready for action next month.

However, with the Indian Premier League set to begin in April, the BCCI are contemplating finishing the Ranji knockout competition after the cash-rich T20 tournament. The BCCI had postponed the Ranji Trophy on January 5, eight days before the first round of matches were scheduled to begin at six centres - Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Kolkata and Thiruvananthapuram.

Along with the Ranji Trophy, the BCCI had also put on hold the Col CK Nayudu Trophy, U-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy and the Senior Women's T20 League. There is no clarity on the resumptions of these tournaments yet. The BCCI have also indefinitely postponed the U-19 Cooch Behar Trophy knockouts due to a surge in Covid cases.