Mumbai drawn in strong group

Mumbai have been slotted in the tougher of the two groups for next season's Ranji Trophy campaign. Railways, Delhi and Karnataka, traditionally strong teams, were also drawn in the same Elite Group. Bengal, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh complete the roster. Tamil Nadu, the runner-up last year, were slotted in the other group.

The groupings were announced when the fixtures and programme committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India met in Mumbai on Thursday. MP and Maharashtra, the two teams to have gained promotion from the Plate Group to the Elite Group last season, were slotted in different groups.

The groupings for the Plate Group were also announced with Haryana, Vidarbha and Rajasthan in the same pool. Rajasthan and Kerala were the two teams to have been relegated to the Plate group last year.

Ratnakar Shetty, the joint secretary of the BCCI, said that the domestic one-day tournament will be held in January.

Shetty also confirmed that the Under-19 domestic tournament would follow the same format of the Ranji Trophy, with Elite and Plate groups. However, the games will be three-day affairs with 15 teams in Elite Group and 12 teams in Plate Group.

Ranji Trophy Groupings for the 2004-05

Elite Division

Group A
Mumbai, Bengal, Railways, Delhi, Karnataka, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh

Group B
Tamil Nadu, Hyderabad, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Baroda, Maharashtra and Punjab

Plate Division

Group A
Orissa, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Saurashtra and Bihar

Group B
Haryana, Tripura, Goa, Services, Vidarbha and Rajasthan