SHILLONG, Feb 3: Meghalaya has been pooled with top sides Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala in Elite Group A of the rejigged Ranji Trophy, as announced by BCCI Secretary Jay Shah. This is the first time that the Meghalaya men’s team will feature in an elite group. There has not been any Ranji Trophy cricket in the country since early 2020 because of the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. In the last season, Meghalaya won five of their nine matches and lost only three. The BCCI has announced that the tournament will begin on February 10, though the fixtures have not been finalised. Meghalaya and its competitors will play their matches in Rajkot, Gujarat. There are eight elite groups in all and one plate group. The 38 participating teams have been divided into more groups than usual this year to mitigate any cross-transmission risk while also ensuring that the bio-bubbles set up are not overburdened. The top seven elite group teams will qualify directly for the quarterfinals while the bottom elite group team and the top plate group side will face off in a pre-quarterfinal before the last-eight round.
The group stage begins February 10 to March 15 before the knockouts is held from May 30 to June 26.
