All India Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament to begin on August 15

New Delhi, Aug 9 (IANS) 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 ScheduleAugust 15-18 – Round OneGroup A – Madhya Pradesh vs Jharkhand, TirunelveliGroup B – Railways vs Gujarat, SalemGroup C – Mumbai vs Haryana, CoimbatoreGroup D – Jammu & Kashmir vs Chhattisgarh, NathamAugust 21-24 – Round TwoGroup A – Jharkhand vs Hyderabad – TirunelveliGroup B – Railways vs TNCA President’s XI – SalemGroup C – Haryana vs TNCA XI – CoimbatoreGroup D – Jammu & Kashmir vs Baroda – NathamAugust 27-30 - Round ThreeGroup A - Madhya Pradesh vs Hyderabad – TirunelveliGroup B - Gujarat vs TNCA President's XI - SalemGroup C - TNCA XI vs Mumbai – CoimbatoreGroup D - Baroda vs Chhattisgarh – NathamSemi-finals – September 2-5First semi-final: Group A Table Topper vs Group B Table Topper – TirunelveliSecond semi-final: Group C Table Topper vs Group D Table Topper – NathamFinal – September 8-11: winner of first semi-final vs winner of second semi-final--IANSnr/bc

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