The BCCI has amended its playing conditions, introducing a provision for "serious injury replacements" in multi-day domestic tournaments for the upcoming season.
Here's a roundup of all Ranji Trophy matches played on Day 1 on Wednesday.
South Zone produced solid batting to take control of the final against North, reaching 298 for three on the second day of the Duleep trophy match in Viaskhapatnam on Thursday. Three South Zone batsmen -- Robin Uthappa (66), S Badrinath (97 not out) and Manish Pandey (74) -- smashed individual half-centuries as they posted a solid reply to North's first innings total of 337 in 70 overs.
The experienced West Zone team will take on a relatively young East Zone in the Duleep Trophy final starting on Saturday
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It was in the deep hours of Wednesday night Namboori Tilak Varma shared the news of his India selection to his parents, Nagaraju and Gayatri Devi, over a video call.
S Badrinath celebrated his India call-up with a fluent 82, while Manish Pandey and R Ashwin also struck half-centuries as South Zone thumped Central Zone by five wickets to sail into the final of the Duleep Trophy in Indore on Friday.
East Zone turned in a disciplined all-round performance to beat West by five wickets and make it to the semi-finals of the Duleep Trophy, in Valsad, on Monday. East will meet North in the semi-final, scheduled to be played in Delhi from February 4.
Skipper Subramanium Badrinath notched up a crucial 136 as South Zone took control of the Duleep Trophy final against North Zone, posting 477 in their first innings in Visakhapatnam on Friday.
Yuvraj Singh made a brilliant comeback into first-class arena as he smashed an unbeaten century for North Zone against Central on the first day of a semi-final match in the Duleep Trophy in Hyderabad.
Last year, the BCCI had increased the prize money for the domestic tournaments with the Ranji Trophy winners receiving a whopping cash reward of Rs 5 crore.
East Zone lost their top order batsmen after a cautious start and ended a rain-curtailed Day 2 in the Duleep Trophy final against Central Zone on 64 for 3 in Chennai, on Monday.
Orissa all-rounder Biplab Samantray's fine spell kept defending champions East Zone in the hunt for a berth in the Duleep Trophy final. He claimed three wickets for 22 runs in 14.1 overs to have South precariously placed at 134 for 5 at stumps on the second day. Earlier, East were dismissed for 267 in their first innings.
Sri Lanka 'A' were 259 for 4 in their second innings, needing another 81 runs to save an innings defeat against North Zone.
Pujara went into lunch on 92 and hardly wasted any time to reach the landmark upon his return. Pujara hammered Saurabh for a couple of fours, one through the cover and one behind the point fielder, to complete his hundred.
Gritty batting by Chirag Pathak (130) and Yousuf Pathan (84 not out) on Friday brought West Zone back into the game as their Duleep Trophy final against South Zone is heading for an exciting finish.
West Zone breezed into the final of the Duleep Trophy on the basis of a huge 475-run first innings lead after their semi-final against North Zone ended in a tame draw in Rajkot on Friday. Resuming at the overnight score of 56 for 1, West Zone declared their second innings at 345 for 7, a few overs before the start of the mandatory overs.
Arshdeep Singh, the left-arm seamer who has become a death-overs specialist for Punjab Kings in the IPL, credits constructive self-criticism and continuous improvement for his success.
Also the temperament of playing 373 balls (62.1 overs out of 116 overs) has made him stand out along with how he forged partnership with a tailender (Navdeep Saini).
Trying to make maximum utilisation of my current form: Sanju Samson
The first semi-final of the Duleep Trophy between defending champions East Zone and South Zone is interestingly poised with the former scoring 126 for six in their second innings to enjoy a slender 152-run lead at stumps on day 3 in Visakhapatnam.
BCCI has radical plans to allow participation of overseas players in major domestic tournaments.
Prithvi Shaw said every run would be very important for him in his endeavour to make a comeback to the Indian team.
'The festival of Dussehra is celebrated to mark the day the Pandavas emerged victorious from their exile. Today, on Dussehra, I am equally happy, as Ajay Jadeja has accepted to be my heir,' the current jamsaheb said in a statement.
Jaiswal has been part of Mumbai's Ranji squad since the 2018-19 season and in 34 Ranji Trophy matches he has a first-class average of 61.65.
'I strongly feel Mayank needs to grind it out in the domestic season.'
The Delhi pacer is likely to make his debut in the Mumbai Test.
BCCI president Sourav Ganguly said: 'Along with the international home series, the BCCI's domestic tournaments are crucial as they are a stepping stone towards making India a strong international side.'
'Pressure will always be there because in international cricket, you can't take any series lightly.' 'The margin between winning and losing is very small, and nowadays, the gap between international teams isn't much either.'
The India Today report claimed that Jaiswal's relationship with Mumbai Captain Ajinkya Rahane had become 'untenable'.
Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has been included in the Test squad for the upcoming two-match series against Bangladesh.
Sarfaraz might have to try batting at No.3 for Mumbai to remain in scheme of things
India batter Ishan Kishan on Wednesday returned to the Jharkhand Ranji team as its captain, following his controversial pullout last season
'...when they feel that they need me for any format, they would summon. My job is to perform and be ready for call ups.'
Mumbai's young batting star Musheer Khan has been ruled out of the upcoming Irani Cup match after suffering a fracture in the neck, in a road accident on the Yamuna Expressway, on Friday.
Hardik Pandya on Thursday posted a video of himself bowling with the red-ball during a training session in England.
Appeared in 61 Tests won by India. Only Sachin Tendulkar (72) and Virat Kohli (62) have been part of a winning XI on more occasions for India.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the first Test against Bangladesh?
North Zone openers Jiwanjot Singh and Unmukt Chand made a cautious start as they reached 33 for no loss against East Zone with only 17 overs of play possible on a rain-curtailed first day of the Duleep Trophy semi-final in Kochi.
Dravid acknowledged the players' sentiments, urging the BCCI to consult those 'putting their bodies on the line.'
