India’s premier domestic cricket tournament, the Ranji Trophy 2025-26, will begin on October 15, 2025, and run until February 28, 2026. The competition, held across multiple venues in India, will feature 38 teams battling for the prestigious title that shapes the future of Indian Test cricket.
The tournament serves as a key platform for identifying and grooming emerging players for the national team, making it one of the most important events in India’s cricket calendar.
Tournament Format and Structure
The 2025-26 season will follow a similar format to recent years. The 38 teams have been divided into five groups, four Elite groups (A,B,C,D) and one Plate group.
- Each Elite group consists of eight teams, while the Plate group has six.
- Teams in each group will play one match against every other team in their group.
- The top two teams from each Elite group will qualify for the quarterfinals, making a total of eight knockout teams.
- In the Plate group, the top four sides will progress to the semifinals.
- The winner of the Plate division will be promoted to the Elite group next season, while the lowest-ranked Elite side may be relegated.
Key Groups
- Elite Group A: Tamil Nadu, Baroda, Jharkhand, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra, Nagaland
- Elite Group B: Saurashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Goa, Chandigarh
- Elite Group C: Gujarat, Haryana, Bengal, Services, Railways, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Assam
- Elite Group D: Mumbai, Delhi, Rajasthan, Hyderabad, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Chhattisgarh, Puducherry
- Plate Group: Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh
Ranji Trophy 2025-2025: First-Round Squads
Karnataka
Mayank Agarwal (c), Karun N, R. Smaran, K.L. Shrijith (wk), K.V. Aneesh, Abhinav M, Nikin J, V. Vyshak, Vidwath Kaverappa, Shreyas G, Kruthik K (wk), Shikar S, Mohsin K, Abhilash S, M. Venkatesh.
Vidarbha
Akshay Wadkar (c), Atharva Taide, Aman M, Danish Malewar, Yash Rathod (vc), Harsh Dubey, Parth Rekhade, Yash T, Nachiket B, Darshan N, Aditya T, Yash K, Shivam D (wk), Praful Hinge, Akshay Karnewar, Dhruv S, R. Samarth.
Jammu & Kashmir
Paras Dogra (c), Shubham K, Rohit Sharma, Abdul S, Vivrant S, Qamran Iqbal, Kawalpreet S, Sahil L, Abid, Vanshaj S, Y Hassan, M Aijaz, Sunil K, Umran M, Umar N, K Wadhawan, Yudhvir S, Mujtaba Y, Lone Muzaffar, Auqib Nabi.
Odisha
Subhranshu Senapati (captain), Swastik Samal (vc), Gourav C, Sandeep P, Govinda P, Aashirwad S (wk), Rajesh D (wk), A Parida, Sambit B, Sumit S, Badal B, S Roul, R Mohanty, Tarani Sa, Tapas Das.
Chhattisgarh
Amandeep Khare (c), Ayush P, Aditya S, A Mandal, A Tiwari, Arafat K, Ashish C, Ashutosh S, Prateek Y, M. Ravi Kiran, Sahban K, S Desai, Shashank C (wk), Shashank S, Shubham A, S Majumdar, Vasudev B.
Madhya Pradesh
Rajat Patidar (c), Yash D, H Gawli, Shubham S, Himanshu M, Harpreet S, V Iyer, S Solanki, Kumar Kartikeya, Saransh J, Adheer P, Aryan Pandey.
Jharkhand
Ishan Kishan (c), Virat Singh (vc), Sharandeep Singh, Shikhar Mohan, Kumar Kushagra (wk), Kumar Suraj, Anukul Roy, Manishi, Vikas Kumar, Jatin Kumar Pandey, Vikash Singh, Aditya Singh, Sahil Raj, Shubham Singh, Aryaman Sen, Rishav Raj.
Tamil Nadu
N. Jagadeesan (c), Pradosh Ranjan Paul (vc), B. Indrajith, M. Shahrukh Khan, R. Vimal Khumar, B. Sachin, C. Andre Siddarth, R.S. Ambrish, P. Vidyuth, D.T. Chandrasekar, Sandeep Warrier, Gurjapneet Singh, C.V. Achyuth, H. Trilok Nag, J. Hemchudesan, G. Ajitesh (wk).
Mumbai
Shardul Thakur (c), Ayush M, Musheer K, Angkrish R, Akhil H, A Rahane, Sarfaraz K, Siddhesh Lad, Suved Parkar, Suryansh S, Akash P, Tushar D, Sylvester D’Souza, Irfan Umair, Roystan D, Pratik M, Akash A (wk), Hardik T (wk), Prasad P (wk), Shams M, Tanush Kotian, Himanshu Singh, Atharva A, Ishan M.
Hyderabad
Tilak Varma (c), Rahul Singh, C.V. Milind, Tanmay Agarwal, M. Abhirath Reddy, Himateja, Varun Goud, Tanay Thyagarajan, Rohit Rayudu, Saranu Nishant, Punnaiah, Aniketh Reddy, Kartikeya Kak, Ali Kachi Diamond (wk), Rahul Radesh (wk).
Nagaland
Sedezhalie Rupreo, Nzanthung Mozhui, Hem Bahadur Chetri, Jonathan Rongsen, Tohuka Zhimo, Imiwati Lemtur, Yugandhar S, Odilemba Kichu, Dip Borah, Saurav Kumar, Vino G. Zhimo, Tahmeed Rahman, Nischal Dega, Chetan Bisht, Ronit More.
Bengal
Abhimanyu Easwaran (c), Abishek Porel (vc/wk), Sudip Gharami, A Majumdar, Sudip C, Sumanta G, Saurabh Singh, Vishal Bhati, Mohammed Shami, Akash Deep, Suraj Jaiswal, Shakir Gandhi (wk), Ishan Porel, Kazi Saifi, Rahul Prasad, Sumit Mohanta, Vikash Singh.
Also read: Virat Kohli Retiring from the IPL? Refuses to Renew RCB Contract!
First-Round Fixtures (October 15-18,2025)
- Uttar Pradesh vs Andhra – Green Park Stadium, Kanpur
- Tamil Nadu vs Jharkhand – Sri Ramakrishna College of Arts and Science Ground, Coimbatore
- Odisha vs Baroda – Barabati Stadium, Cuttack
- Nagaland vs Vidarbha – BCCI COE Ground 1, Bengaluru
- Kerala vs Maharashtra – Sports Hub International Cricket Stadium, Trivandrum Goa vs Chandigarh – Goa Cricket Association Academy, Porvorim
- Madhya Pradesh vs Punjab – Emerald Heights International School Ground, Indore Saurashtra vs Karnataka – Niranjan Shah Stadium, Rajkot
- Services vs Tripura – Air Force Complex Ground, Palam, New Delhi
- Gujarat vs Assam – Narendra Modi Stadium Ground ‘A’, Motera, Ahmedabad Bengal vs Uttarakhand – Eden Gardens, Kolkata
- Railways vs Haryana – C.K. Pithawala Ground, Surat
- Puducherry vs Himachal Pradesh – Siechem Stadium, Puducherry
- Jammu & Kashmir vs Mumbai – Sher-e-Kashmir Cricket Stadium,
- Srinagar Rajasthan vs Chhattisgarh – Madan Paliwal Miraj Sports Centre,
- Rajsamand Hyderabad vs Delhi – NexGen Cricket Ground, Hyderabad
Why the Ranji Trophy Still Matters
In an era dominated by T20 leagues, the Ranji Trophy remains the true test of skill, patience, and temperament. It continues to produce India’s finest red-ball cricketers, from Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara to Rinku Singh and Yashasvi Jaiswal. This year’s edition promises new stories, surprises, and performances that could define the next generation of Indian Test players.
The Ranji Trophy 2025-26 is not just another domestic tournament, it’s where India’s cricketing future takes shape. With fierce competition, new leaders, and rising stars, the stage is perfectly set for another memorable season of red-ball excellence.
Written by Kinjal Walantra
