Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India], June 15 (ANI): The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) vice-president Rajiv Shukla said that the board is scheduling two home games for the Indian Cricket Team in Raipur in order to promote cricket in the city.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) held its 28th Apex Council meeting on Saturday, where the venues for the home white-ball series between India and New Zealand were approved.

'We are in favour of promoting cricket in Chhattisgarh. Two matches will be played in Chhattisgarh, one between India and South Africa and the other between India and New Zealand. This is a great achievement for Raipur. We are trying to promote cricket here...,' Rajiv Shukla told the reporters.

The Apex Council confirmed the venues for India's upcoming white-ball home series against New Zealand, scheduled to be held in early 2026. The series will have three ODIs to be held at Baroda (January 11), Rajkot (January 14) and Indore (January 18) and five T20Is to take place at Nagpur (January 21), Raipur (January 23), Guwahati (January 25), Vizag (January 28) and Trivandrum (January 31).

The BCCI Domestic Season 2025-26 was also approved during the meeting. The season will start with the Duleep Trophy (August 28, 2025) and conclude with the Senior Women's Inter-Zonal Multi-Day Trophy (April 3, 2026).

There have been some key changes made to domestic cricket tournaments and structure:

*The Duleep Trophy and Senior Women's Challenger tournaments will now be contested between six zonal teams selected by zonal selectors.

*Plate Group restructuring has been introduced across age categories. The bottom 6 teams (based on the previous season's rankings) will be placed in the Plate Group for limited-overs tournaments.

*Promotion/relegation rules updated: Only one team will be promoted/relegated between Elite and Plate groups going forward.

*Tournament Format Updates: The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Senior Women's T20 Trophy will now include a Super League stage instead of a traditional knockout.

*New Grouping Formats: Major tournaments such as Vijay Hazare Trophy, Senior Women's One Day Trophy, and Men's U23 State A Trophy will follow a 4 Elite Groups + 1 Plate Group model. Most junior and women's tournaments (U16, U19, U23) have moved to a 5 Elite + 1 Plate group structure.

The Apex Council has resolved to establish a Working Group comprising five (5) 'Umpire Coaches' to oversee the development of umpires and enhance their on-field performance. These five 'Umpire Coaches' must possess international umpiring experience and have served as former umpires.

Additionally, the Apex Council has decided to form a Working Group consisting of three (3) former Match Referees. This Working Group will be responsible for monitoring the development of match referees and providing them with opportunities to improve their performance in cricket matches. (ANI)