Overview
- The 91st edition runs October 15 to February 24 with 38 teams split into four Elite groups and a six-team Plate league featuring promotion and relegation.
- Round one features 19 matches starting 9:30 am IST, headlined by Vidarbha vs Nagaland in Bengaluru, Mumbai at Jammu & Kashmir in Srinagar, and Kerala vs Maharashtra in Thiruvananthapuram.
- Full state squads and captains are confirmed, with notable moves including Karun Nair’s return to Karnataka, Ravikumar Samarth’s switch to Vidarbha, Hanuma Vihari’s arrival at Tripura, and Prithvi Shaw and Jalaj Saxena joining Maharashtra.
- Rishabh Pant is absent from Delhi’s opening squad but could return in round two on October 25 subject to fitness clearance from the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.
- The season is split across two red-ball phases around the Syed Mushtaq Ali and Vijay Hazare tournaments, with Elite top-twos advancing to quarter-finals and the final slated for late February.