IPL 2021 Auction Forces States To Prefer Mushtaq Ali Trophy Over Ranji Trophy

India’s domestic season is yet to get underway as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be a major hurdle towards the resumption of cricket activities. In order to start the domestic season, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently asked the state associations’ on the structure of the shortened season as it plans to create six bio-secure hubs across the country between December and March.

According to earlier PTI  report, the board has proposed 67 days for the Ranji Trophy (January 11-March 18), 22 days for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Tournament (December 20 to January 10) while the Vijay Hazare Trophy, if held, can be conducted between January 11 to February 7 for a period of 28 days. However, it looks like the BCCI’s suggestion has not been accepted by some state associations, who in turn have asked for change of dates for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Tournament.With multiple media reports suggesting that the IPL 2021 auction happening at the start of next year, PTI in its latest report has reported that top domestic sides like Karnataka, Saurashtra and Punjab have officially requested the BCCI to conduct the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament from January instead of proposed December 20 date as they would be short of preparations for a big-ticket event like this. Reportedly, Karnataka is the only state that wants all the tournaments (Ranji Trophy, Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy) this season.