Mumbai, June 14, 2025 — The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) held its 28th Apex Council Meeting on Saturday, announcing significant structural updates focused on safety, officiating standards, and domestic cricket development for the 2025–26 season.
BCCI forms safety guidelines committee after Bengaluru incident
The Council began by expressing deep sorrow over recent tragedies in Ahmedabad and Bengaluru, including the incident during victory celebrations. In response, a three-member safety guidelines committee was established, chaired by Devajit Saikia, with Prabhtej Singh Bhatia and Rajeev Shukla as members. The committee has been tasked with formulating safety protocols within 15 days.
New working groups to enhance umpiring and refereeing standards
In a bid to improve match officiating, the BCCI will form a Working Group of five Umpire Coaches — all with prior international umpiring experience — to mentor and develop domestic umpires.
Additionally, a separate Match Referees Working Group, comprising three former referees, will focus on performance improvement and provide ongoing guidance to current referees.
Venues confirmed for 2026 India–New Zealand white-ball series
The Council confirmed that India’s home white-ball series against New Zealand in early 2026 will proceed as planned, with all venues now finalized.
BCCI Domestic Season 2025–26: Key reforms and calendar
The upcoming domestic season, which runs from August 28, 2025, to April 3, 2026, will begin with the Duleep Trophy and conclude with the Senior Women’s Inter-Zonal Multi-Day Trophy.
Structural Updates:
- Zonal Selection: Both the Duleep Trophy and Senior Women’s Challenger tournaments will use zonal teams picked by zonal selectors.
- Plate Group Overhaul: Bottom six teams (by rankings) across age categories will compete in the Plate Group for limited-overs events.
- Promotion/Relegation: Only one team per year will move between Elite and Plate Groups.
- Format Changes: The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Senior Women’s T20 Trophy will now feature a Super League stage instead of knockouts.
Group Structures:
- 4 Elite + 1 Plate Group: Used for tournaments like Vijay Hazare Trophy, Men’s U23 State A Trophy.
- 5 Elite + 1 Plate Group: Adopted across most junior and women’s domestic events (U16, U19, U23).
For full schedule and tournament details, visit the BCCI official site.
