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.

Cricket administrators in Hyderabad have long made more headlines for infighting and allegations of financial impropriety than for cricket. Now the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) is trying to change that, and at the centre of that push is M. Jeevan Reddy, who took charge as HCA’s secretary in March.

Two key appointments followed: Ambati Rayudu leading the Cricket Operations Committee and Wasim Jaffer as mentor to every team under its umbrella, both coming on board only after being guaranteed an interference-free environment.

The inaugural edition of TG20 followed, a small but important new feather in a dusty, worn-out cap.

“Anybody in Hyderabad has the opportunity to engage with the best sporting infrastructure. But how about rural Telangana? They don’t have basic facilities, like grounds or nets to practice, or coaches. I wanted to focus on rural cricketing activity when I came in,” Jeevan told The Hindu.

Jeevan has not been shy in seeking help when required. For instance, he roped in people associated with the Tamil Nadu Premier League for the smooth functioning of TG20. This helped more than 150 players get a grand stage to showcase their talent, with some even snapping up trial opportunities with IPL teams.

While international cricket returns to the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium after two long years next month, the bigger talking point has been the recent announcement by the State government of a world-class cricket stadium spread across a 100-acre site in Future City.

“We are working towards having a capacity of around 80 to 90 thousand. It’ll also have an academy attached, along with a hotel, a recreational area and three or four practice grounds.

“When you look at where the existing stadium is located, it is not possible to expand it. We are limited by safety challenges. The road approaching the stadium is very narrow, and it is between residential areas. So holding any event there creates a lot of challenges for the residents.”

An interest in being part of an expanding Women’s Premier League canopy is another reason he cited for wanting a new venue.

“In the next two years, there could be three more teams coming in, and then hopefully the matches will also come to Hyderabad. If everything goes according to plan, somebody from Hyderabad itself could own a team,” he explained, stopping short of revealing much more.

On the domestic front, the Gymkhana Ground, a regular Ranji Trophy host in the city, is undergoing major changes ahead of the upcoming season.

“Most pitches are flat these days. There is not a lot of swing now. So we wanted to create an environment where both batters and bowlers can do well and have surfaces that give momentum to the bowlers too.”

Skipper Tilak Varma has been the standout player for South Zone in the Duleep Trophy this year.

The Hyderabad batter was instrumental in taking the team to the final, leading from the front with unbeaten knocks of 116 and 51 in the semifinal against North.

In the summit clash, Tilak yet again stood tall, scoring a valiant 99 against East Zone, even if he couldn’t help his team avoid conceding a huge lead.

“It’s an important knock, but at the same time I was only focused on what the team needed. I could have taken more chances before, but the plan was simply to take it session by session,” said Tilak. 

“If some other batter stayed with me, I was confident we [could] have batted through to the end of the day, [and] take it session-by-session till tomorrow and push for a draw. Unfortunately, we lost wickets, and the result went in their favour,” he added.

“A hundred would have been a nice reward for the hard yards I put in the heat, but individual milestones don’t matter as much as the result.”

Though the 23-year-old has quickly been elevated as vice-captain of the T20I side, he reiterated that Test cricket is his ultimate goal.

“I always say to everyone that I want to play red-ball cricket for India. That’s my biggest goal because I really love playing red-ball cricket. As a kid, I thought I’d play Test cricket first and then only white-ball cricket. I’m really keen to play red-ball cricket, and let’s see how it goes,” said Tilak.

East Zone pacer Mukesh Kumar felt that there was enough on the surface for the quicks to keep the batters honest, provided they had the right tactics.

Despite bowling on a fresh MAC Stadium pitch on the opening day of the Duleep Trophy final, the South Zone fast bowlers were inconsistent and resorted to short-pitched stuff without much success.

In contrast, Mukesh and Mohammed Shami attacked the stumps and scalped four of the six wickets to fall on day three.

“I didn’t pitch it too full here. If I had bowled full, it would have invited cover drives and similar shots. So, pulling the length back slightly to back-of-a-length on this red soil [was important]. If you hit the deck hard and put effort into it, the ball kicks. We worked on that,” said Mukesh.

The Bengal speedster also stressed the need to maintain the ball, especially on red-soil pitches where it could get scuffed easily.

“Speaking for myself, the harder I pound the deck and hit the seam, the more the ball will kick, regardless of the wicket. The other part is working on the ball — applying sweat repeatedly, polishing it, and preparing it for reverse swing. We worked on that, and it gave us movement,” he added.

On his plans for Devdutt Padikkal, Mukesh explained: “It was to bowl stump-to-stump because we knew he was coming after scoring two centuries in Sri Lanka. On wickets like this, if you offer width to batters, runs will leak. Our plan as fast bowlers was to stay as consistent as possible and bowl dot balls, letting them take the risks. They would try to force the pace and get out because they need to score runs.”

A disciplined bowling performance and the comfort of a huge first-innings total ensured East Zone tightened its stranglehold over South Zone on day three of the Duleep Trophy final at the MAC Stadium here.

Chasing 709, South needed more than a couple of batters to produce special knocks. Unfortunately, aside from Devdutt Padikkal (62, 104b, 4×4), none of the others showed much inclination to keep the contest alive.

In the final session, skipper Tilak Varma offered some resistance, remaining unbeaten on 56 (133b, 5×4), but it was akin to trying to keep a sinking boat afloat as his side finished on 242 for six, still 466 runs in arrears.

For East, Mohammed Shami and Mukesh Kumar took two wickets each. The former showed that he can still make the ball talk through both conventional and reverse swing with short yet incisive spells.

After losing opener Ricky Bhui early — caught down the leg-side off Mukesh Kumar — N. Jagadeesan and Padikkal added 60 runs for the second wicket.

The TN ’keeper-batter, though, threw away his start, slicing an innocuous wide delivery from left-arm spinner Shikhar Mohan to backward point.

Padikkal, fresh from twin centuries in the recently concluded Test series in Sri Lanka, was at his fluent best, cruising to a half-century. The southpaw looked set for another big one, until he flicked a leg-side half-volley from Mukesh down the square-leg fielder’s throat, much to his disbelief.

Shami, in his second spell, attacked the stumps relentlessly and reaped the rewards through his trademark delivery that seamed off the pitch and trapped Shaik Rasheed plumb in front.

The 36-year-old then produced another peach from around the wicket that nipped away just enough to have R. Smaran caught behind, leaving South tottering at 174 for five.

Tilak and Shreyas Gopal then added 66 for the sixth wicket before the latter was dismissed in the final over of the day. With East skipper Ishan Kishan already hinting that his team was not inclined to enforce the follow-on, the next two days could well be about going through the formalities before the coronation.

The scores: East Zone — 1st innings: 708 in 163 overs.

South Zone — 1st innings: Ricky Bhui c Kushagra b Mukesh 1, N. Jagadeesan c Abhimanyu b Shikhar 32, Devdutt Padikkal c sub (Denish) b Mukesh 62, Shaik Rasheed lbw b Shami 27, Tilak Varma (batting) 56, R. Smaran c Kushagra b Shami 23, Shreyas Gopal c & b Quraishi 26, C.V. Milind (batting) 2; Extras (b-8, nb-3, w-2): 13; Total (for six wkts. in 80 overs): 242.

Fall of wickets: 1-10, 2-70, 3-126, 4-129, 5-174, 6-240.

East Zone bowling: Shami 11-4-17-2, Mukesh 12-1-36-2, Quraishi 31-7-77-1, Abhijit 8-0-34-0, Shikhar 13-0-52-1, Sooryavanshi 4-0-10-0, Kishan 1-0-8-0.

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.

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.

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.

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.

 Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s care-free, adolescent excellence graced big-ticket First Class cricket, as the 15-year-old made an entertaining 81-ball 92 on day two of East Zone’s Duleep Trophy semifinal versus Central Zone at the BCCI Centre of Excellence here on Monday.

In an innings that lasted 118 minutes and was studded with seven sixes and as many fours, Sooryavanshi took on every bowler, and put on 161 glorious runs for the opening wicket with Abhimanyu Easwaran (69, 106b, 8×4).

He was dropped on 40 by Yash Rathod at backward point off Saransh Jain while trying a wild cross-batted heave. But what is boyhood if frightening frankness isn’t accompanied by tiny flaws?

Pacer Yash Thakur was the first to bear Sooryavanshi’s brunt, smashed as he was for a flurry of fours and two sixes, one down the ground and the other hooked.

Saransh, who had just returned from Sri Lanka following his debut Test, induced a false stroke in his very first over only for Yash Rathod to make a mess of it.

Sooryavanshi, however, was unaffected. Reputation has rarely bothered him, and in the IPL, he didn’t spare even the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Josh Hazlewood.

A falling reverse sweep off Saransh was his response, and though that did not fetch the desired result, he hoisted the offie over long-on to bring up his half-century from 42 balls.

Sooryavanshi then collected maximums off medium-pacer Aryan Panday and left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey, before launching another blitzkrieg against Saransh.

The seasoned Madhya Pradesh spinner was sent soaring above long-off, violently reverse-swept for four, and then muscled over cow-corner.

Another attempt at a hoick ended Sooryavanshi’s stay as he was caught at deep mid-wicket off Dubey.

But it was not before he became the youngest half-centurion in Duleep Trophy history, breaking Rajasthan batter Laxman Singh’s record for Central Zone from January 1969 when the latter was 16.

 South Zone weathered a blistering early morning bowling effort from India pacer Gurnoor Brar (four for 70) to finish day two of the Duleep Trophy semifinal 90 runs in the green at the BCCI Centre of Excellence here on Monday.

From an overnight 40 for two, South was reduced to 80 for five. But skipper Tilak Varma played all day (106 batting, 225b, 7×4), and combined with Shreyas Gopal (87, 169b, 11×4) for an excellent, match-turning 175-run partnership.

If not for a flurry of wickets towards close – from 255 for five to 270 for nine – South would have been in a healthier position. Nevertheless, with Tilak still around, South can hope to turn the screw further on day three, starting from 285 for nine.

It was an uncharacteristic innings from the usually dashing 23-year-old Hyderabad batter. His half-century took 149 balls and contained no boundaries, and the first hit past the ropes came on the 154th delivery, helping South secure the first-innings lead.

Shreyas was a tad faster but eschewed none of his partner’s caution, safely cutting and steering his way to his fifty from 107 deliveries. But just when the 32-year-old seemed set for his seventh First Class ton, an attempted glide to third-man brought about his downfall.

A mini collapse ensued, and it was only then that Tilak shifted gears, and reached his eighth First Class hundred from 219 balls with back-to-back boundaries off Gurnoor.

But in the morning, Gurnoor would have had no inkling of the things to come. Off his fifth ball, he turned N. Jagadeesan inside-out and rearranged his stumps.

R. Smaran, the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy top-scorer, was consumed by another mesmerising delivery that hit the top of off-stump. K. Himateja was sent back next ball to push South to the brink only for Tilak and Shreyas to turn the tables.

On the adjacent ground where East Zone was playing Central, proceedings were in stark contrast. Where South scored 73 runs in the opening session, East, propelled by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s manic 92 (81b, 7×4, 7×6), scored as many as 183.

But from 200 for two, Ishan Kishan’s outfit was dismissed for 266, the same first-innings total as Central. In what is now a one-innings shoot out, Central was 45 for three at stumps, with captain Rajat Patidar too back in the hut.

The scores: North Zone 195 vs. South Zone 285/9 in 94 overs (Tilak Varma 106 batting, Shreyas Gopal 87, Gurnoor Brar 4/70).

Central Zone 266 & 45/3 in 20 overs vs. East Zone 266 in 57 overs (Abhimanyu Easwaran 69, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 92, Harsh Dubey 4/66).

 Duleep Trophy was once an important pit stop in a cricketer’s journey towards the Indian National team. But now, with the mushrooming of glitzy and faster highways to success like the IPL and India-A, the inter-zonal competition has slid down the importance chart.

It is not that the Duleep Trophy is irrelevant; a good performance against the best Ranji Trophy players from the previous season still carries significant value. But it is just one more data point in a cricketer’s graph and not the clincher it once was.

Yet, when the 2026-27 edition starts on Sunday at the BCCI Centre of Excellence here, there will be sufficient interest. As the tournament heralds the beginning of the domestic cricket calendar, players’ first moves will be as important as chess openings.

In the inaugural round, the competitive match – at least on paper – is expected to be the North Zone-West Zone encounter. But Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s presence on the adjacent ground, turning out for East versus the North East, will attract enough eyeballs.

The cherubic 15-year-old has a proven T20 game, but the red ball will present twin tests. There are batting numbers to better, for he averages 17.25 from eight First Class matches. There is the vice-captaincy burden to carry, for he is Ishan Kishan’s deputy.

East also has veteran Mohammed Shami, who last played for India more than 17 months ago. He picked up 37 wickets in Bengal’s dash to the Ranji semis in 2025-26, only for the selectors to look the other way. Can he turn their heads this time around?

North will be led by Jammu & Kashmir’s Kanhaiya Wadhawan, and has six of his Statemates, a hat-tip to J & K’s maiden Ranji triumph earlier this year. Ruturaj Gaikwad will marshal West Zone’s resources, with Mumbai batter Prithvi Shaw in the mix.

Defending champion Central and runner-up South have been given byes to the semifinals. The next four days will decide who they will face.

In a serious breach of anti-corruption regulations, a player in the ongoing Tamil Nadu Premier League has come under the BCCI’s Anti-Corruption Unit scanner.

He was found to be in possession of a mobile phone in the restricted Players and Match Officials Area during his team’s match.

Players are prohibited from using any communication devices and have to deposit their gadgets with the team manager before entering the PMOAs.

Only the team manager is permitted to carry a mobile in the PMOA, and should use it only for cricket operations.

The incident occurred at the NPR College ground in Natham, Dindigul, earlier this week, where the TNPL has been happening since August 4.

The Anti-Corruption Unit has made a formal communication to the TNCA regarding the incident.

“Yes, we have received a letter about this incident. We have instructed the concerned team owners not to consider him for selection until the enquiry is over. We are investigating the matter and will take appropriate action,” said TNCA secretary U. Bhagawandas Rao in a statement.

Earlier this year in the IPL, Rajasthan Royals manager Romi Bhinder was fined ₹1 lakh and given a warning for using a phone in the dugout during the match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Managers are allowed to use mobiles only in the dressing room and not in the dugouts.