The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), at its 28th Apex Council Meeting convened on Saturday, decided to constitute a committee to formulate comprehensive guidelines aimed at preventing incidents in the future such as the stampede after Royal Challengers Bengaluru won the Indian Premier League title. After RCB’s IPL win, the franchise hosted a victory parade which had resulted in a stampede that led to the deaths of 11 fans and many more injuries.
The BCCI named a three-member committee which includes Devajit Saikia (as Chairperson), Prabhtej Singh Bhatia and Rajeev Shukla to “formulate comprehensive guidelines” for the future. BCCI’s three-member committee will formulate the guidelines within 15 days, the statement added.
In a statement released by BCCI, it said that the “Apex Council expressed its profound grief over the tragic incidents in Ahmedabad (the air India air crash which left at least 270 dead) and Bengaluru, which led to the unfortunate loss of innocent lives.”
Story continues below this ad
The venues for the home series against New Zealand were also given the green light. The following venues will host the three ODIs: Baroda (1st ODI on 11 Jan), Rajkot (2nd ODI on 14 Jan) and Indore (3rd ODI on 18 Jan). Meanwhile the five T20Is will be held at Nagpur (1st T20I on 21 Jan), Raipur (2nd T20I on 23 Jan), Guwahati (3rd T20I on 25 Jan), Vizag (4th T20I on 28 Jan) and Trivandrum (5th T20I on 31 Jan).
The BCCI also announced key changes to the domestic circuit for the 2025–26 season,
Season Duration and Coverage
The 2025–26 domestic will begin with the Duleep Trophy (August 28, 2025) and conclude with the Senior Women’s Inter-Zonal Multi-Day Trophy (April 3, 2026).
Key Changes
The Duleep Trophy and Senior Women’s Challenger tournaments will now be contested between six zonal teams selected by zonal selectors. Plate Group restructuring has been introduced across age categories. The bottom 6 teams (based on the previous season’s rankings) will be placed in the Plate Group for limited overs tournaments.
Story continues below this ad
Promotion/relegation rules updated: Only one team will be promoted/relegated between Elite and Plate groups going forward.
Tournament Format Updates
The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Senior Women’s T20 Trophy will now include a Super League stage instead of a traditional knockout.
