BCCI to organise Vijay Hazare Trophy & Women's One-Dayers; No confirmation on Ranji trophy

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will be organising the Vijay Hazare 50-over tournament, the Senior women's one-dayers, and the Vinoo Mankad Trophy - U19 limited-overs tournament. This comes after the BCCI successfully hosted the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament which began on January 10, kicking off the much-delayed 2020-21 domestic season.

'Difficult to plan the cricket calendar'

BCCI Secretary Jay Shah in his letter to the state associations, accessed by ANI, informed them that the decision was taken with an eye on the Coronavirus pandemic and the feedback of the state bodies. "The pandemic has tested each and every one of us and there is no life that has remained untouched by it, and while it has been difficult, your support has meant that we have been able to resume both domestic and international cricket in the men's category," Jay Shah wrote. 

"As you are aware, we have lost a lot of time and consequently, it has been difficult to plan the cricket calendar on account of the precautions that are necessary for the safe conduct of the games," he added. 

"However, it was extremely important for us to ensure that women's cricket takes place and I am extremely happy to inform you that we are going to conduct the Senior Women's One-day tournament simultaneously with the Vijay Hazare Trophy and follow it up with Vinoo Mankad Trophy Under 19. This has been decided after having received your feedback on the domestic season 2020-21," he wrote.

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The cricket board had asked the state associations to give their feedback on how they wish for the rest of the 2020-21 domestic season to play out. And most state bodies called for the 50-over tournament as that would be logistically easier to organise. The BCCI has also been in a dilemma on hosting the Ranji Trophy and with the decision on Vijay Hazare Trophy, it seems like Ranji Trophy won't be staged this domestic season.

Meanwhile, Baroda rode on skipper Kedar Devdhar's fighting 64 and bowlers' impressive show to beat Punjab by 25 runs and enter the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, in Motera on Friday. Baroda will now take on Tamil Nadu in the summit clash on Sunday.

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