The upcoming edition of the CK Nayudu Trophy will start on March 17, 2022, and run until May 1, 2022, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced on Saturday, March 5.

CK Nayudu Trophy is an Under-25 domestic men’s tournament that was postponed due to the rising Coronavirus cases in India.

Interestingly, the BCCI will organise a domestic men’s tournament during the high-profile Indian T20 League for the first time since its inception in 2008. 

BCCI secretary Jay Shah, in a letter to all the state associations, stated, “Dear all, as you are aware, the COVID-19 situation has had an impact on cricket. As the number of covid cases witnessed a steep surge, the BCCI postponed several domestic tournaments. The rising cases led to an indefinite postponement of our premier domestic tournament — the Ranji Trophy, along with the CK Nayudu and the Senior Women’s T20 League.

“As the impact of the pandemic reduced, the BCCI first up started the Ranji Trophy in a new format with eight Elite Groups of four teams each and a Plate Group of six teams. At this stage, we’ve successfully completed two rounds of the Ranji Trophy and mitigated the impact of COVID-19 on our premier domestic tournament. We’re now going ahead with the Col CK Nayudu Trophy,” Shah added.

As per the format of the tournament, eight Elite Groups will feature four teams each and one Plate Group of five teams.

CK Nayudu Trophy 2022 Groups

Elite A: Mumbai, Andhra, Tamil Nadu, Manipur. Venue: Pondicherry. 

Elite B: Baroda, Saurashtra, Rajasthan, Bihar. Venue: Surat 

Elite C: MP, Hyderabad, Jharkhand, Odisha. Venue: Trivandrum. 

Elite D: Vidarbha, Maharashtra, Railways, Chandigarh. Venue: Indore. 

Elite E: Gujarat, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Pondicherry. Venue: Rajkot 

Elite F: Uttar Pradesh, Himachal, Kerala, Goa. Venue: Bangalore. 

Elite G: Karnataka, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Haryana. Venue: Goa. 

Elite H: Punjab, Bengal, J&K, Tripura. Venue: Delhi. 

Plate: Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Arunachal. Venue: Cuttack.

Featured photo: INDRANIL MUKHERJEE / AFP