With a modified format, the 2025–26 Ranji Trophy will take place in two phases from October 15 to February 28. One team from the Plate Group will be promoted, and another will be relegated. After the competition, two teams were previously promoted and demoted. At its Apex Council meeting on Saturday, June 14, the BCCI made its judgment. The BCCI introduced nine teams, including North Eastern sides, to the Ranji Trophy in 2018–19, although this had an effect on the standard of cricket in the top domestic league. Despite participating in the Ranji Trophy Elite division, Meghalaya lost all seven of its games in the previous season.

All one-day events, including the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, now feature the Plate classification. The quarterfinal, semifinal, and final stages were all part of the knockout games until last season. However, starting this season, the Super League will add three more games for the eligible teams.

In the final, the best teams from Groups A and B will face off. The Plate Group will be made up of the six teams that finished last in the previous season. The dates of the SMAT are November 26–December 18.

The head-to-head qualification requirement has also been eliminated for all white-ball tournaments, and if two teams have identical points and victories, the net run rate will now decide which team advances in the competition.

India vs New Zealand Likely Venues

• Hyderabad – First ODI (Jan 11)
• Rajkot – Second ODI (Jan 14)
• Indore – Third ODI (Jan 18)
• Nagpur – First T20I (Jan 21)
• Ranchi – Second T20I (Jan 23)
• Guwahati – Third T20I (Jan 25)
• Visakhapatnam – Fourth T20I (Jan 28)
• Thiruvananthapuram – Fifth T20I (Jan 31)

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