Legendary Sunil Gavaskar slammed BCCI’s season plan after Duleep Trophy 2026. After East Zone won the Duleep Trophy final against South Zone, Gavakar questioned the Indian board for keeping Ranji Trophy in two phases.

The first phase of the Ranji Trophy will be played from October 11 to November 5 whereas the second phase will run from January 17 to March 3 in 2027.

In between these two phases, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy will be played in one go from November 14 to December 6.

Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar, “After the league stage of the Ranji Trophy, there’s a gap of over a month for the white-ball tournaments, after which the Ranji Trophy knockout starts. The rhythm and momentum get destroyed. Why is the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy not played till the quarterfinal, then a break for a few weeks, and then the semifinals and final, as it happens with the Ranji Trophy? It won’t be done because the auction for the IPL happens pretty soon after the tournament.”

“How can a tournament be interrupted to accommodate a white-ball tournament? The Ranji Trophy national championship needs to be given pride of place again, rather than being pushed around here and there as it has been over the past few years.”

The IPL 2027 will likely take place after Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy season, which will allow the 10 franchises to bag in-form players.

The Little Master warned that ignoring domestic cricket to focus on international cricket will prove counterproductive in the end.

“Ignoring domestic cricket to focus on international cricket will prove counterproductive in the end. Most importantly, if red-ball cricket is neglected, then the chances of producing top-class players will reduce considerably. Look at the current Indian teams, and you will find that just about every player has come through the fire of red-ball cricket. Red-ball cricket gives a grounding that white-ball cricket hardly ever does,” said Gavaskar (via the aforementioned source).

India will next face Afghanistan in a three-match T20I series.