Ranji Trophy 2025-26: The senior males’s home cricket season returns in full swing with the 2025–26 Ranji Trophy, starting on October 15. A complete of 38 groups will compete throughout the nation, with defending champions. Vidarbha coming into because the favorites after additionally clinching the Irani Cup earlier this month in Nagpur.
This season guarantees loads of pleasure with 138 matches scheduled, alongside breaks for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy, making it a packed home calendar.
Format of the Ranji Trophy 2025-26
The match is split into two divisions: the Elite and the Plate classes.
Elite Division: Options 32 groups break up into 4 teams (A, B, C, D). Every crew performs a single round-robin inside its group. The highest two groups from every group advance to the quarter-finals.
Plate Division: Contains 6 groups in a single group. The highest 4 advance to Plate knockouts, whereas remaining groups contest in playoffs to find out last rankings.
This format ensures aggressive steadiness, giving each skilled and rising groups a good probability to progress.
Elite Teams and Notable Squads
Elite A: Tamil Nadu, Baroda, Jharkhand, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra, Nagaland
Elite B: Saurashtra, Chandigarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Goa
Elite C: Gujarat, Haryana, Companies, Bengal, Railways, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Assam
Elite D: Mumbai, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Hyderabad, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Puducherry
Plate Division: Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim, Manipur, Arunachal
A number of squads have introduced their first-round line-ups:
Karnataka: Mayank Agarwal (captain), Karun Nair, Shreyas Gopal, Kruthik Krishna (wk) and others.
Vidarbha: Akshay Wadkar (captain), Akshay Karnewar, Atharva Taide, Darshan Nalkande and others.
Mumbai: Shardul Thakur (captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Sarfaraz Khan, Siddhesh Lad, Prasad Pawar (wk) and others.
Jammu & Kashmir: Paras Dogra (captain), Rohit Sharma, Abdul Samad, Umran Malik and others.
Odisha: Subhranshu Senapati (captain), Aashirwad Swain (wk), Swastik Samal (vc) and others.
Different squads, together with Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, and Nagaland, have additionally finalized their groups, that includes a mixture of skilled campaigners and younger expertise.
First-Spherical Fixtures to Watch
The primary spherical of matches will happen from October 15 to 18 at venues throughout India:
Uttar Pradesh vs Andhra – Inexperienced Park Stadium, Kanpur
Tamil Nadu vs Jharkhand – Sri Ramakrishna School Floor, Coimbatore
Odisha vs Baroda – Barabati Stadium, Cuttack
Nagaland vs Vidarbha – BCCI COE Floor 1, Bengaluru
Kerala vs Maharashtra – Sports activities Hub Worldwide Cricket Stadium, Trivandrum
Goa vs Chandigarh – Goa Cricket Affiliation Academy, Porvorim
Madhya Pradesh vs Punjab – Emerald Heights Worldwide College Floor, Indore
Saurashtra vs Karnataka – Niranjan Shah Stadium, Rajkot
Companies vs Tripura – Airforce Complicated Floor, Palam, New Delhi
Gujarat vs Assam – Narendra Modi Stadium Floor ‘A’, Motera, Ahmedabad
Bengal vs Uttarakhand – Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Railways vs Haryana – CK Pithawala Floor, Surat
Pondicherry vs Himachal Pradesh – Siechem Stadium, Puducherry
Jammu & Kashmir vs Mumbai – Sher-e-Kashmir Cricket Stadium, Srinagar
Rajasthan vs Chhattisgarh – Madan Paliwal Miraj Sports activities Centre, Rajsamand
Hyderabad vs Delhi – NexGen Cricket Floor, Hyderabad
These fixtures promise aggressive cricket as groups search robust begins to the lengthy home season.
Vidarbha Eye Again-to-Again Titles
Defending champions Vidarbha, who additionally received the Irani Cup, would be the crew to beat this season. With a well-balanced squad combining expertise and younger expertise, they goal to retain their dominance in Indian home cricket.
The Ranji Trophy 2025-26 provides a platform for each rising stars and seasoned gamers to shine. Gamers like Shreyas Gopal (Karnataka), Ajinkya Rahane (Mumbai), and Akshay Karnewar (Vidarbha) will likely be intently watched for performances that would push them into nationwide competition.
With a packed schedule and 138 matches lined up, the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy guarantees to be an exciting home season. Followers can anticipate intense competitors, breakout performances from younger gamers, and battles between seasoned campaigners as Indian cricket continues to develop in depth and expertise.