Kolkata: Cricket, the most popular sport in India by far, and is played almost everywhere in the country. The richest cricket federation in the world the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the governing body of Indian cricket that has been conducting all domestic tournaments and selecting the members of each team.
Domestic competitions in India include the Ranji Trophy, the Duleep Trophy, the Vijay
Hazare Trophy, the Deodhar Trophy, and the NKP Salve challenger Trophy. Among all the tournament’s Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy is the most popular among fans.
In addition, the BCCI also conducts the Indian Premier League also known as the cash-rich League a Twenty20 competition, which is also one of the biggest sports leagues in the world. But it doesn’t play down the fact that other domestic tournaments have also contributed to a large extent, especially towards enriching the Indian roster. Let’s have a look at all the 3 most popular domestic cricket tournaments in India.
Ranji Trophy
Domestic cricket’s most prestigious tournament Ranji Trophy cricket is India’s premier domestic tournament since 1934. It was proposed by the founder of the Board of Control of Cricket in India A.S De Mello. Earlier, it was known as the Cricket Championship of India but later the tournament got named after Ranjitsinhji, the first international cricketer from India. The tournament has a round-robin format followed by knockout stages. The total 38 teams participating in the Ranji Trophy cricket is divided into two divisions the plate league and the elite league. Promotions and relegations happen at the end of every season. Bombay is the most successful Ranji trophy team with a total of 41 titles while Saurashtra is the defending champion. The 2021-22 season of the tournament scheduled to be played between January 5 to March 20.
Vijay Hazare Trophy
India’s biggest 50-over domestic tournament featuring all the 38 teams. Vijay Hazare Trophy was named after one of the finest cricketers India has ever produced Vijay Hazare, and the BCCI honored him by naming the trophy after him in the 2002-03 season. After the group stages, the winner will be found through playoffs. Unlike the Ranji Trophy circuit, the Vijay Hazare Trophy tournament is highly competitive. Though Tamil Nadu has the highest number of titles (5 titles) teams like Mumbai, Karnataka, Gujarat, Saurashtra are equally potential contenders for the title and it makes the event one of the most exciting among all domestic tournaments. The 2021-2022 season of the tournament’s pre-quarterfinals is currently going on, the final is slated to begin from 20th February to 14 March.
Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy
A T20 competition, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy is played between the state teams of India who also participate in the country’s premier domestic competition, The Ranji Trophy. The 2009-10 season was the inaugural one for this tourney which is named after the famous Indian cricketer, Syed Mushtaq Ali.
The tournament kicked off soon after the first IPL season and it gathered a lot of hype and interest among the Indian audience who were just getting into the T20. In terms of the number of teams featuring in the tournament, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy is India’s biggest domestic T20 championship. All 38 teams playing in the Ranji Trophy and Vijay Hazare trophy participated in this tournament as well. One of the prime peculiarities of this format is unpredictability. Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy ensures just that as in the 13 seasons so far, no team won the title more than twice. Teams like Maharashtra, Baroda won the most number of titles.
