All India Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament to begin on August 15

New Delhi: The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) has announced that the 2024 edition of the All India Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament will take place from August 15 to September 11.

The tournament, which was revived last year after a gap of six years, will be conducted in the four-day red-ball format, akin to the procedure followed in league stages of Ranji Trophy. It then serves as vital preparation for the 12 participating teams ahead of the upcoming 2024/25 domestic season.

TNCA Secretary RI Palani added that Tirunelveli, Coimbatore, Salem and Natham are the venues for the league stages of the competition comprising three rounds. The first semi-final will be played at Tirunelveli, while the second semi-final and final respectively will be played at Natham.

The prize money for the winner and runners-up teams will be INR three lakhs and two lakhs respectively. 12 teams have been divided into four groups with three teams each. Madhya Pradesh are the defending champions of the Buchi Babu tournament after defeating Delhi by a massive 250 runs in last year’s final.

This year, Madhya Pradesh are grouped alongside Jharkhand and Hyderabad in Group A. Group B comprises of Railways, Gujarat and TNCA President’s XI, while Group C has Ranji Trophy holders Mumbai, Haryana and TNCA President’s XI respectively.

Group D is made up of Jammu & Kashmir, Baroda and Chhattisgarh. Top two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals. Mumbai had announced its squad last week, with India Test batter Sarfaraz Khan to captain the team. Various reports have suggested that India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav and wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan are expected to turn out at some point in the competition.

Tournament Schedule

August 15-18 – Round One

Group A – Madhya Pradesh vs Jharkhand, Tirunelveli

Group B – Railways vs Gujarat, Salem

Group C – Mumbai vs Haryana, Coimbatore

Group D – Jammu & Kashmir vs Chhattisgarh, Natham

August 21-24 – Round Two

Group A – Jharkhand vs Hyderabad – Tirunelveli

Group B – Railways vs TNCA President’s XI – Salem

Group C – Haryana vs TNCA XI – Coimbatore

Group D – Jammu & Kashmir vs Baroda – Natham

August 27-30 - Round Three

Group A - Madhya Pradesh vs Hyderabad – Tirunelveli

Group B - Gujarat vs TNCA President's XI - Salem

Group C - TNCA XI vs Mumbai – Coimbatore

Group D - Baroda vs Chhattisgarh – Natham

Semi-finals – September 2-5

First semi-final: Group A Table Topper vs Group B Table Topper – Tirunelveli

Second semi-final: Group C Table Topper vs Group D Table Topper – Natham

Final – September 8-11: winner of first semi-final vs winner of second semi-final