2020–21 Ranji Trophy

2020–21 Ranji Trophy
	The Ranji Trophy, awarded to the winners
Administrator(s)	BCCI
Cricket format	First-class cricket
Tournament format(s)	Round-robin then knockout
Host(s)	India
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The 2020–21 Ranji Trophy was scheduled to be the 87th season of the Ranji Trophy, the premier first-class cricket tournament in India.^[1] Saurashtra were the defending champions.^[2] However, in January 2021, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed that the season had been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[3] It was the first time since the tournament's inception in the 1934–35 season that the Ranji Trophy was not held.^[4]

Background

Before the COVID-19 pandemic started, a change to the format of the tournament was submitted to the BCCI, splitting the elite teams into five groups, instead of three, therefore reducing the number of matches.^[5] However, in June 2020, the BCCI denied that any changes to the tournament's structure would be taking place.^[6] Also in June, Rahul Dravid, the head of cricket at the National Cricket Academy, suggested that the Indian domestic season could start later or be shortened due to the pandemic.^[7] On 19 July 2020, the Times of India reported that the Ranji Trophy would be the only senior domestic cricket tournament to be played in the Indian 2020–21 cricket season,^[8] with teams split into five zones, North, West, South, East and Central.^[9] In August 2020, the BCCI confirmed that hosting the Ranji Trophy was "a priority".^[10] The following month, the BCCI warned that the domestic cricket season could be severely curtailed due to the pandemic, including the possibility of no cricket taking place.^[11]

In December 2020, the BCCI confirmed the dates of the 2020–21 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy,^[12] with a decision on the Ranji Trophy due after the completion of the group stage of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.^[13] Originally, the tournament was scheduled to start on 1 January 2021.^[14] However, the start was delayed, with the BCCI looking to begin a reduced competition from February 2021.^[15] On 30 January, the BCCI cancelled the 2020–21 Ranji Trophy season,^[16] but gave the go-ahead for the 2020–21 Vijay Hazare Trophy to take place.^[17] An estimated 800 cricketers were impacted by the cancellation of the tournament, with each player due to be paid R140,000 per match.^[18]