Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Motera Stadium to host knockouts, tournament starts on January 10, 2021

Bangalore, Kolkata, Vadodara, Indore, and Mumbai have been chosen as the venues for the five Elite groups respectively, while Chennai will be hosting the plate group games.

Karnataka, who won the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last time will open their title defence against Jammu and Kashmir on January 10.

The BCCI has asked all the teams to report at their respective base by January 2 at the team hotel and then they have to undergo quarantine in accordance with the state regulatory authorities.

All players and support staff will be undergoing COVID-19 tests on January 2, 4 and 6, at the respective team hotels and after passing the tests, they can begin with practice sessions from January 8.

The teams will assemble in their bio-hubs on January 2 and the final is set to be played on January 31. The BCCI had informed the state associations of the decision to organise the T20 tournament through the mail after having sought feedback from them on how the state bodies wish to see the domestic season pan out.

Adding on, the BCCI secretary said: “The BCCI will subsequently seek further feedback from the members on organising any other domestic tournament/tournaments and a decision will be taken after the group stage of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The Members are requested to factor a subsequent tournament in their planning and make the arrangements accordingly.”