Challenger Trophy to open domestic season instead of Irani Cup

Mumbai, Sep 4 (UNI) The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to start the domestic season with the N K P Salve Challenger Trophy instead of the traditional Irani Trophy which is played between Ranji winners and Rest of India side.

This season will now begin with the Challenger Trophy, the premier one-day tournament in the country to be played under lights between India Seniors, India 'A' and India 'B' teams at Chennai from October 1-4.

The Irani Trophy tournament has thus been pushed back and will now in this season be played from October 9-13 at Nagpur.

The Challenger series is sandwiched between the Indian team's return from Malaysia and the commencement of the ICC Champions Trophy, in India, beginning October 7.

The Ranji Trophy Elite division league will be held from November 23, 2006 to January 13, 2007, while the plate group will begin from November 23, 2006 and will go on till December 28, 2006. The semifinals and the final in both the divisions would be held on January 23-27 and February 1-5 respectively.

The Duleep Trophy this season will be held at six centres in the central and east zones will be held from October 19 to November 6, 2006 with the finals scheduled to be held at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata from November 12-16, according to the schedule drawn up by the BCCI.

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