The Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) has informed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that the Arun Jaitley Stadium would not be able to stage Delhi’s home games in the first phase of the 2026-27 Ranji Trophy season. The venue, which hosted three T20Is between India and Afghanistan last week, is set to undergo a renovation, with the DDCA looking to install a state-of-the-art drainage system.

Delhi has two home matches, against Gujarat (October 18-21) and Services (November 2-5), in the first four rounds of the Ranji Trophy. These games will be held at the Air Force Station Complex in Palam, which is the home base of Services. The First Class competition will pause in November for the white-ball events before resuming in January. Delhi has another home game against Maharashtra in the second phase, scheduled from February 1 to 4.

The stadium, in the heart of the national capital, is also slated to host an ODI between India and Sri Lanka on December 13.

“The plan is to switch to a sand-based outfield. Our drainage system is lagging behind many grounds in the country. As and when the work begins, it will take four to five months,” said a DDCA official.

Delhi’s opening fixture of the Ranji campaign is against Bengal at the Bengal Cricket Academy Ground in Kalyani from October 11 to 14.

Ishan Kishan led from the front with a sprightly unbeaten 111 (135b, 14×4, 1×6) as East Zone amassed 385 for four against South Zone on the opening day of the Duleep Trophy final at the MAC Stadium here on Sunday.

The Jharkhand batter built on the efforts of opener Abhimanyu Easwaran (72, 86b, 10×4, 1×6) and No. 3 Shikhar Mohan (85, 120b, 9×4, 3×6) after opting to bat.

Abhimanyu Easwaran gets run out in the Duleep Trophy final between South Zone and East Zone.
| Photo Credit:
R. RAGU

While Kishan headlined the day, it was Vaibhav Sooryavanshi who hogged the limelight.

It is not often that you see packed stands for a domestic game in India. Yet, even before the first ball was bowled, the C, D, and E stands at Chepauk were nearly full in anticipation of seeing the wunderkind. And in the first 90 minutes of the day, the youngster kept the fans on their feet through some elegant strokeplay.

The 15-year-old got on his toes nicely to counter the bounce from the red-soil pitch and punched South Zone pacers Mohammed Siraj and M.D. Nideesh to the off-side fence a few times.

And when Siraj went full, Sooryavanshi had no second thoughts about lofting down the ground for a six and a four. The southpaw eventually holed out on the leg-side trying to pull C.V. Milind for 44.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
| Photo Credit:
R. RAGU

At the other end, Abhimanyu kept pace with the youngster and did not hold himself back, be it pulling Siraj effortlessly or giving the charge to the spinners.

Post lunch, Shikhar and Kishan combined forces, adding 94 for the fourth wicket, capitalising on a below-par effort from the South bowlers.

Shikhar was largely untroubled, confidently driving Siraj for back-to-back boundaries through the off-side before launching off-spinner T. Vijay for a six and two boundaries off consecutive deliveries.

Shikhar Mohan.
| Photo Credit:
R. RAGU

Kishan kept busy without trying to be aggressive, bringing up his half-century off 71 deliveries. In the final session, he pressed on the accelerator and brought up his century in style, driving Shreyas Gopal down the ground majestically.

Alongside his Jharkhand teammate Kumar Kushagra (63 batting, 75b, 4×4, 5×6), the duo added an unbroken 144 runs for the fifth wicket as East established an early hold on the contest.

The scores: East Zone — 1st innings: Abhimanyu Easwaran run out 72, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi c sub (Tanay) b Milind 44, Shikhar Mohan b Milind 85, Sudip Kumar Gharami c Milind b Vijay 6, Ishan Kishan (batting) 111, Kumar Kushagra (batting) 63; Extras (nb-4): 4; Total (for four wkts. in 79 overs): 385.

Fall of wickets: 1-100, 2-133, 3-147, 4-241.

South Zone bowling: Siraj 14-1-96-0, Nidheesh 10-2-39-0, Vijay 22-3-114-1, Milind 13-1-56-2, Shreyas 19-3-77-0, Rasheed 1-0-3-0.

Toss: East.

When Mohammed Shami walks onto the MAC Stadium turf on Sunday for East Zone in the Duleep Trophy final against South Zone, it will be a momentous occasion for the 36-year-old, who will be featuring in his 100th First Class match.

As he aims to return to the national team, Shami has been putting in the hard yards in domestic cricket. Last year, the pacer took 37 wickets in the Ranji Trophy from seven matches as Bengal narrowly missed out on making the summit clash.

This season, in two Duleep outings so far, the veteran speedster has bowled with pace and verve, prompting East Zone skipper Ishan Kishan to praise him lavishly.

“He has been picking up wickets, giving all his energy. He is coming in and asking me for those extra overs to get the wickets.

“It is hard when you are not regularly playing for the Indian team and to have that kind of motivation for domestic games. But I see that hunger in him.

“You can see when he is trying to help me — he comes and gives options about what can be done,” Kishan added.

At a time when Jasprit Bumrah is battling injuries and Mohammed Siraj is not looking at his sharpest, another good run in domestic cricket could get Shami back in the reckoning.

India’s next Test tour is to New Zealand, where conditions will be seamer-friendly. Shami can also be a great asset in the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa, a tournament where he boasts of a stellar record — 55 wickets at a world-leading average of 13.52.

In the last Duleep game against Central Zone in Bengaluru, the way Shami set up Yash Rathod — testing the batter outside the off-stump, softening him up with a few bouncers before nipping one away to get him caught behind — showed a bowler still at the top of his game.

During that fixture, National selector Pragyan Ojha had a long discussion with the pacer from Amroha. Opening of a fresh chapter in Shami’s international career? Time will tell.

All-rounder Jalaj Saxena will represent Kerala in the 2026-27 domestic season. Jalaj, who played for Maharashtra in the 2025-26 season, didn’t take part in the Maharashtra Premier League (MPL) in June. He applied for an NOC and the BCCI approved his transfer, making him eligible to play for Kerala.

The BCCI clearance came on the eve of the Kerala Cricket League player auction. Alleppey Ripples, for whom Jalaj played last season, was quick to retain him for ₹5 lakh. Jalaj was also actively involved in the auction as part of Ripples’ bidding team. 

Mohammed Azharuddeen, former Kerala Ranji Trophy captain, welcomed Jalaj back, stating that his availability will be a big boost for Kerala.

“He is a proven match-winner. We all know the value he brings to the side. We struggled to take wickets last season, and Jalaj will strengthen our bowling in the upcoming season,” he said.

Jalaj, who left Kerala after nine seasons, had taken 25 wickets and scored 164 runs for Maharashtra in the Ranji Trophy last season. 

For Kerala, Jalaj has taken 352 wickets and scored 3,153 runs across all formats. In the Ranji Trophy alone, Jalaj scored 2,252 runs, including three centuries, and took 269 wickets with 23 five-wicket hauls for Kerala. He remains the only cricketer to score 6,000 runs and take 400 wickets in Ranji Trophy. 

India-A all but sealed a place in the tri-nation series final with a commanding 101-run win over Afghanistan-A at the Rangiri International Stadium on Wednesday, thanks to a composed knock from Kumar Kushagra and a disciplined bowling effort.

Asked to bat, India-A recovered from a wobble to post 319 for nine. Half-centuries from Priyansh Arya (58, 42b, 9×4, 1×6), skipper Tilak Varma (59, 75b, 5×4) and Kushagra (58, 67b, 5×4) formed the backbone of the innings, with the 104-run fourth-wicket stand between Tilak and Kushagra proving decisive.

The changes to the XI paid off immediately. Priyansh, drafted in for Prabhsimran Singh, continued his impressive run at the top, while Kushagra justified his inclusion ahead of Ayush Badoni.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi once again got a start but failed to convert it despite surviving a couple of chances. Ruturaj Gaikwad looked fluent before edging Abdollah Ahmadzai behind.

When wickets fell in quick succession, Kushagra remained calm and assured, rebuilding the innings alongside Tilak. The pair wrestled back control before Vipraj Nigam added late impetus with a brisk 30 off 20 balls to take India-A past 300.

Tilak Varma.
| Photo Credit:
SLC

The run chase began brightly. Hassan Eisakhil attacked Anshul Kamboj and Yash Thakur before mistiming a pull to Ruturaj at short mid-wicket. Khalid Taniwal and Imran Mir also got starts but failed to capitalise.

The chase remained alive through an 87-run fourth-wicket partnership between Bahir Shah and Faisal Shinozada. Just when Afghanistan-A threatened to mount a challenge, India-A struck back.

Anukul Roy tightened the screws in the middle overs, while Vipraj delivered key breakthroughs. The turning point came when Bahir departed soon after reaching a hard-fought fifty.

From there, Afghanistan-A unravelled as left-arm spinner Nishant Sindhu cleaned up the tail with four wickets, bowling out the side for 218.

The emphatic win lifted India-A to the top of the points table, ahead of Sri Lanka-A and Afghanistan-A on Net Run Rate, leaving it on the verge of a place in the final.

The scores: India-A 319/9 in 50 overs (Priyansh 58, Tilak 59, Kushagra 58) bt Afghanistan-A 218 in 36.5 overs (Shinozada 46, Bahir 57, Sindhu 4/31).

Toss: Afghanistan-A; PoM: Nishant Sindhu.