Former India captain and ex-chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar isn’t pleased with the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) scheduling of domestic cricket.
In a week’s time, South Africa A will tour India for a 2-match unofficial Test series and three one-day matches. Vengsarkar points out that the series will clash directly with the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season.
The first leg of the domestic red-ball tournament commenced on October 15, and four more matches will be played before there’s a break to conduct the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Ranji Trophy vs India A series
The India A vs South Africa A will run from October 30 to November 19, which means top players won’t be available to play the remaining Ranji Trophy matches. For those who’ll play the unofficial Test matches, that’ll be good practice for red-ball cricket, but those part of the one-day squad won’t be playing at least one Ranji Trophy match.
Vengsarkar thinks the BCCI is wrong to schedule the series alongside the Ranji Trophy; it takes the charm away from India’s premier domestic tournament.
“To be honest, it’s wrong on the part of the BCCI to have these ‘A’ team matches when the Ranji Trophy is going on in full swing. This way, you are diluting the Ranji Trophy. Everybody should play it,” Vengsarkar told RevSportz.
Of course, the India A series wasn’t just scheduled out of the blue by the BCCI. It’s common practice by the board to send their ‘A’ side to the country before or sometimes while the series goes on. India A travelled to England before the Test series earlier in the year, and England will send their Lions team to Australia at the same time as the 2025-26 Ashes commences.
This helps them understand which players might be suited to foreign conditions. Some of them also come into the main squad off the back of the performance.
India A vs South Africa A Schedule
| Match | Date (From) | Date (To) | Time (IST) | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Unofficial Test | Oct 30, 2025 | Nov 2, 2025 | 09:30 | BCCI COE |
| 2nd Unofficial Test | Nov 6, 2025 | Nov 9, 2025 | 09:30 | BCCI COE |
| 1st Unofficial One-Day | Nov 13, 2025 | Nov 13, 2025 | 09:30 | Rajkot |
| 2nd Unofficial One-Day | Nov 16, 2025 | Nov 16, 2025 | 09:30 | Rajkot |
| 3rd Unofficial One-Day | Nov 19, 2025 | Nov 19, 2025 | 09:30 | Rajkot |
