Central Zone and Vidarbha kicked off India’s 2025-26 domestic season by winning the Duleep Trophy and Irani Cup, respectively. Now the attention shifts to the premier Ranji Trophy.
The first-class tournament enters its 91st season in October 2025. Vidarbha, high on confidence after the Irani Cup triumph, will defend their crown with full force.
But when does the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 start?
The 91st edition of the Ranji Trophy will start on October 15, 2025, with the first round. All 38 teams, split into five groups, will be in action in the opening round across 19 matches.
Alright, how do the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 groups stack up?
We’ll have five groups, with four part of the Elite Division while one forms the Plate Division.
The Elite Division has 32 teams divided into four groups of eight each. And the Plate Division has a single group of six teams.
Goa and Nagaland have gained promotion to the Elite Division, while Bihar and Meghalaya have moved to the Plate Group.
Here are the groups for the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 season:
| Elite A | Elite B | Elite C | Elite D | Plate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vidarbha | Kerala | Gujarat | Mumbai | Bihar |
| Tamil Nadu | Saurashtra | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Meghalaya |
| Baroda | Chandigarh | Services | Himachal Pradesh | Mizoram |
| Jharkhand | Karnataka | Bengal | Delhi | Sikkim |
| Odisha | Maharashtra | Railways | Hyderabad | Manipur |
| Uttar Pradesh | Madhya Pradesh | Tripura | Rajasthan | Arunachal Pradesh |
| Andhra | Punjab | Uttarakhand | Chhattisgarh | – |
| Nagaland | Goa | Assam | Puducherry | – |
What’s the format in the Ranji Trophy 2025-26?
So Elite Group teams will play seven matches each. They will face their group members once.
After the single round robin matches, the top two teams from each Elite Group will advance to the quarter-finals. The quarter-final winners will then proceed to the semi-finals. And then the final will crown the Ranji Trophy champion.
As for the Plate Group, teams will play five matches each. The top two teams after the league stage will contest in the final, with the winner lifting the Plate Group title.
Will there be promotion and relegation after this season?
Yes, though it will be different from last season. After the 2024/25 season, two teams each from the Elite Division and the Plate Division gained promotion and faced relegation for this edition.
But from this season onwards, only one team from each of the Elite and Plate divisions will move up and down.
So, the Plate Group winner of this season will gain promotion to the Elite Division next season. And the bottom-ranked team among all four Elite Groups will face demotion to the Plate Group for the next season.
Okay, now tell me the complete Ranji Trophy 2025-26 schedule…
Sure. The red-ball tournament will run from October 15, 2025, to February 28, 2026.
The tournament, though, will be split into two phases. Five rounds will take place from October 15 to November 19, while the second phase will resume on January 22, 2026.
On its resumption, Elite Group teams will play their last two league stage matches. The Plate Group, meanwhile, will have their final between January 22 and 25.
The knockouts for the Elite Group will start on February 6 with four quarter-finals. The semi-finals will start on February 15, while the final will take place between February 24 and 28.
All the knockout matches in the Elite Division will have five playing days, while the group stage matches will have four days. The Plate Group final, though, will be a four-day affair. And all matches will start at 9:30 AM IST.
Must Read | How Long Does a Ranji Trophy Match Last?
Ranji Trophy 2025-26 Complete Schedule
| Date | Group | Match | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 15–18, 2025 | Elite A | Uttar Pradesh vs Andhra | Kanpur |
| Oct 15–18, 2025 | Elite A | Tamil Nadu vs Jharkhand | Coimbatore |
| Oct 15–18, 2025 | Elite A | Odisha vs Baroda | Cuttack |
| Oct 15–18, 2025 | Elite A | Nagaland vs Vidarbha | Sovima |
| Oct 15–18, 2025 | Elite B | Goa vs Chandigarh | Porvorim |
| Oct 15–18, 2025 | Elite B | Kerala vs Maharashtra | Trivandrum |
| Oct 15–18, 2025 | Elite B | Madhya Pradesh vs Punjab | Indore |
| Oct 15–18, 2025 | Elite B | Saurashtra vs Karnataka | Rajkot |
| Oct 15–18, 2025 | Elite C | Bengal vs Uttarakhand | Eden Gardens |
| Oct 15–18, 2025 | Elite C | Gujarat vs Assam | Ahmedabad |
| Oct 15–18, 2025 | Elite C | Railways vs Haryana | Surat |
| Oct 15–18, 2025 | Elite C | Services vs Tripura | Delhi |
| Oct 15–18, 2025 | Elite D | Hyderabad vs Delhi | Hyderabad |
| Oct 15–18, 2025 | Elite D | Jammu & Kashmir vs Mumbai | Srinagar |
| Oct 15–18, 2025 | Elite D | Puducherry vs Himachal Pradesh | Puducherry |
| Oct 15–18, 2025 | Elite D | Rajasthan vs Chhattisgarh | Rajsamand |
| Oct 15–18, 2025 | Plate | Bihar vs Arunachal Pradesh | Patna |
| Oct 15–18, 2025 | Plate | Sikkim vs Manipur | Rangpo |
| Oct 15–18, 2025 | Plate | Meghalaya vs Mizoram | Shillong |
| Oct 25–28, 2025 | Elite A | Andhra vs Baroda | Vizianagaram |
| Oct 25–28, 2025 | Elite A | Nagaland vs Tamil Nadu | Sovima |
| Oct 25–28, 2025 | Elite A | Uttar Pradesh vs Odisha | Kanpur |
| Oct 25–28, 2025 | Elite A | Vidarbha vs Jharkhand | Nagpur |
| Oct 25–28, 2025 | Elite B | Chandigarh vs Maharashtra | Chandigarh |
| Oct 25–28, 2025 | Elite B | Karnataka vs Goa | Shimoga |
| Oct 25–28, 2025 | Elite B | Saurashtra vs Madhya Pradesh | Rajkot |
| Oct 25–28, 2025 | Elite B | Punjab vs Kerala | New Chandigarh |
| Oct 25–28, 2025 | Elite C | Bengal vs Gujarat | Eden Gardens |
| Oct 25–28, 2025 | Elite C | Uttarakhand vs Railways | Ramnagar |
| Oct 25–28, 2025 | Elite C | Haryana vs Tripura | Rohtak |
| Oct 25–28, 2025 | Elite C | Assam vs Services | Tinsukia |
| Oct 25–28, 2025 | Elite D | Puducherry vs Hyderabad | Puducherry |
| Oct 25–28, 2025 | Elite D | Mumbai vs Chhattisgarh | Mumbai |
| Oct 25–28, 2025 | Elite D | Jammu & Kashmir vs Rajasthan | Srinagar |
| Oct 25–28, 2025 | Elite D | Delhi vs Himachal Pradesh | Delhi |
| Oct 25–28, 2025 | Plate | Manipur vs Bihar | Nadiad |
| Oct 25–28, 2025 | Plate | Meghalaya vs Sikkim | Shillong |
| Oct 25–28, 2025 | Plate | Arunachal Pradesh vs Mizoram | Ahmedabad |
| Nov 1–4, 2025 | Elite A | Baroda vs Uttar Pradesh | Vadodara |
| Nov 1–4, 2025 | Elite A | Tamil Nadu vs Vidarbha | Coimbatore |
| Nov 1–4, 2025 | Elite A | Odisha vs Andhra | Cuttack |
| Nov 1–4, 2025 | Elite A | Jharkhand vs Nagaland | Ranchi |
| Nov 1–4, 2025 | Elite B | Maharashtra vs Saurashtra | Nashik |
| Nov 1–4, 2025 | Elite B | Punjab vs Goa | New Chandigarh |
| Nov 1–4, 2025 | Elite B | Madhya Pradesh vs Chandigarh | Indore |
| Nov 1–4, 2025 | Elite B | Kerala vs Karnataka | Mangalapuram |
| Nov 1–4, 2025 | Elite C | Gujarat vs Haryana | Ahmedabad |
| Nov 1–4, 2025 | Elite C | Services vs Uttarakhand | Delhi |
| Nov 1–4, 2025 | Elite C | Assam vs Railways | Tinsukia |
| Nov 1–4, 2025 | Elite C | Tripura vs Bengal | Agartala |
| Nov 1–4, 2025 | Elite D | Delhi vs Puducherry | Delhi |
| Nov 1–4, 2025 | Elite D | Rajasthan vs Mumbai | Jaipur |
| Nov 1–4, 2025 | Elite D | Chhattisgarh vs Jammu & Kashmir | Raipur |
| Nov 1–4, 2025 | Elite D | Himachal Pradesh vs Hyderabad | Nadaun |
| Nov 1–4, 2025 | Plate | Bihar vs Meghalaya | Patna |
| Nov 1–4, 2025 | Plate | Manipur vs Arunachal Pradesh | Ahmedabad |
| Nov 1–4, 2025 | Plate | Mizoram vs Sikkim | Anand |
| Nov 8–11, 2025 | Elite A | Uttar Pradesh vs Nagaland | Kanpur |
| Nov 8–11, 2025 | Elite A | Andhra vs Tamil Nadu | Vizag |
| Nov 8–11, 2025 | Elite A | Vidarbha vs Odisha | Nagpur |
| Nov 8–11, 2025 | Elite A | Baroda vs Jharkhand | Vadodara |
| Nov 8–11, 2025 | Elite B | Kerala vs Saurashtra | Mangalapuram |
| Nov 8–11, 2025 | Elite B | Maharashtra vs Karnataka | Nashik |
| Nov 8–11, 2025 | Elite B | Goa vs Madhya Pradesh | Porvorim |
| Nov 8–11, 2025 | Elite B | Chandigarh vs Punjab | Chandigarh |
| Nov 8–11, 2025 | Elite C | Gujarat vs Services | Nadiad |
| Nov 8–11, 2025 | Elite C | Railways vs Bengal | Surat |
| Nov 8–11, 2025 | Elite C | Tripura vs Assam | Agartala |
| Nov 8–11, 2025 | Elite C | Hyderabad vs Uttarakhand | Hyderabad |
| Nov 8–11, 2025 | Elite D | Chhattisgarh vs Puducherry | Raipur |
| Nov 8–11, 2025 | Elite D | Mumbai vs Himachal Pradesh | Mumbai |
| Nov 8–11, 2025 | Elite D | Delhi vs Jammu & Kashmir | Delhi |
| Nov 8–11, 2025 | Elite D | Hyderabad vs Rajasthan | Hyderabad |
| Nov 8–11, 2025 | Plate | Sikkim vs Bihar | Ragpo |
| Nov 8–11, 2025 | Plate | Mizoram vs Manipur | Anand |
| Nov 8–11, 2025 | Plate | Arunachal Pradesh vs Meghalaya | Surat |
| Nov 16–19, 2025 | Elite A | Tamil Nadu vs Uttar Pradesh | Coimbatore |
| Nov 16–19, 2025 | Elite A | Jharkhand vs Andhra | Jamshedpur |
| Nov 16–19, 2025 | Elite A | Odisha vs Nagaland | Bhubaneswar |
| Nov 16–19, 2025 | Elite A | Vidarbha vs Baroda | Nagpur |
| Nov 16–19, 2025 | Elite B | Punjab vs Maharashtra | New Chandigarh |
| Nov 16–19, 2025 | Elite B | Saurashtra vs Goa | Rajkot |
| Nov 16–19, 2025 | Elite B | Madhya Pradesh vs Kerala | Indore |
| Nov 16–19, 2025 | Elite B | Karnataka vs Chandigarh | Hubballi |
| Nov 16–19, 2025 | Elite C | Railways vs Tripura | Valsad |
| Nov 16–19, 2025 | Elite C | Uttarakhand vs Gujarat | Dehradun |
| Nov 16–19, 2025 | Elite C | Bengal vs Assam | Kalyani |
| Nov 16–19, 2025 | Elite C | Haryana vs Services | Rohtak |
| Nov 16–19, 2025 | Elite D | Mumbai vs Puducherry | Mumbai |
| Nov 16–19, 2025 | Elite D | Himachal Pradesh vs Chhattisgarh | Nadaun |
| Nov 16–19, 2025 | Elite D | Jammu & Kashmir vs Hyderabad | Jammu |
| Nov 16–19, 2025 | Elite D | Rajasthan vs Delhi | Rajsamand |
| Nov 16–19, 2025 | Plate | Bihar vs Mizoram | Patna |
| Nov 16–19, 2025 | Plate | Manipur vs Meghalaya | Surat |
| Nov 16–19, 2025 | Plate | Sikkim vs Arunachal Pradesh | Rangpo |
| Jan 22–25, 2026 | Elite A | Uttar Pradesh vs Jharkhand | Meerut |
| Jan 22–25, 2026 | Elite A | Odisha vs Tamil Nadu | Cuttack |
| Jan 22–25, 2026 | Elite A | Andhra vs Vidarbha | Vizianagaram |
| Jan 22–25, 2026 | Elite A | Baroda vs Nagaland | Vadodara |
| Jan 22–25, 2026 | Elite B | Maharashtra vs Goa | Pune |
| Jan 22–25, 2026 | Elite B | Karnataka vs Madhya Pradesh | Bengaluru |
| Jan 22–25, 2026 | Elite B | Saurashtra vs Punjab | Rajkot |
| Jan 22–25, 2026 | Elite B | Kerala vs Chandigarh | Mangalapuram |
| Jan 22–25, 2026 | Elite C | Tripura vs Uttarakhand | Agartala |
| Jan 22–25, 2026 | Elite C | Gujarat vs Railways | Ahmedabad |
| Jan 22–25, 2026 | Elite C | Bengal vs Services | Eden Gardens |
| Jan 22–25, 2026 | Elite C | Assam vs Haryana | Fulung |
| Jan 22–25, 2026 | Elite D | Puducherry vs Jammu & Kashmir | Puducherry |
| Jan 22–25, 2026 | Elite D | Hyderabad vs Mumbai | Hyderabad |
| Jan 22–25, 2026 | Elite D | Chhattisgarh vs Delhi | Raipur |
| Jan 22–25, 2026 | Elite D | Rajasthan vs Himachal Pradesh | Rajsamand |
| Jan 22–25, 2026 | – | Plate Final | TBC |
| Jan 29 – Feb 01, 2026 | Elite A | Vidarbha vs Uttar Pradesh | Nagpur |
| Jan 29 – Feb 01, 2026 | Elite A | Tamil Nadu vs Baroda | Coimbatore |
| Jan 29 – Feb 01, 2026 | Elite A | Nagaland vs Andhra | Sovima |
| Jan 29 – Feb 01, 2026 | Elite A | Jharkhand vs Odisha | Jamshedpur |
| Jan 29 – Feb 01, 2026 | Elite B | Madhya Pradesh vs Maharashtra | Indore |
| Jan 29 – Feb 01, 2026 | Elite B | Goa vs Kerala | Porvorim |
| Jan 29 – Feb 01, 2026 | Elite B | Punjab vs Karnataka | New Chandigarh |
| Jan 29 – Feb 01, 2026 | Elite B | Chandigarh vs Saurashtra | Chandigarh |
| Jan 29 – Feb 01, 2026 | Elite C | Tripura vs Gujarat | Agartala |
| Jan 29 – Feb 01, 2026 | Elite C | Haryana vs Bengal | Rohtak |
| Jan 29 – Feb 01, 2026 | Elite C | Uttarakhand vs Assam | Dehradun |
| Jan 29 – Feb 01, 2026 | Elite C | Services vs Railways | Delhi |
| Jan 29 – Feb 01, 2026 | Elite D | Puducherry vs Rajasthan | Puducherry |
| Jan 29 – Feb 01, 2026 | Elite D | Mumbai vs Delhi | Mumbai |
| Jan 29 – Feb 01, 2026 | Elite D | Hyderabad vs Chhattisgarh | Hyderabad |
| Jan 29 – Feb 01, 2026 | Elite D | Himachal Pradesh vs Jammu & Kashmir | Nadaun |
| Feb 06–10, 2026 | – | Quarterfinal 1 | TBC |
| Feb 06–10, 2026 | – | Quarterfinal 2 | TBC |
| Feb 06–10, 2026 | – | Quarterfinal 3 | TBC |
| Feb 06–10, 2026 | – | Quarterfinal 4 | TBC |
| Feb 15–19, 2026 | – | Semifinal 1 | TBC |
| Feb 15–19, 2026 | – | Semifinal 2 | TBC |
| Feb 24–28, 2026 | – | Final | TBC |
Ongoing & Upcoming Series Schedule:
India’s Domestic Cricket Schedule 2025-26
Indian Men’s Cricket Team Schedule for 2025 Home Season
Indian Women’s Cricket Team 2025 Complete Schedule
Australia Schedule for 2025-26 Home Season
Ashes 2025-26 Complete Schedule
Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) 2025: Schedule
New Zealand vs West Indies Series 2025: Schedule
New Zealand Schedule for 2025-26 Home Season
World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 Full Schedule
Pakistan vs South Africa 2025 Series: Schedule
What about the squads?
We will see some star players in action for their respective Ranji Trophy teams. Here are the squads of all Ranji Trophy teams for the 2025/26 season:
Karnataka
Mayank Agarwal (c), Karun Nair, R. Smaran, K.L. Shrijith (wk), K.V. Aneesh, Abhinav Manohar, Nikin Jose, V. Vyshak, Vidwath Kaverappa, Shreyas Gopal, Kruthik Krishna (wk), Shikar Shetty, Mohsin Khan, Abhilash Shetty, M. Venkatesh.
Vidarbha
Akshay Wadkar (c), Atharva Taide, Aman Mokhade, Danish Malewar, Yash Rathod (vc), Harsh Dubey, Parth Rekhade, Yash Thakur, Nachiket Bhute, Darshan Nalkande, Aditya Thakare, Yash Kadam, Shivam Deshmukh (wk), Praful Hinge, Akshay Karnewar, Dhruv Shorey, R Samarth.
Jammu & Kashmir
Paras Dogra (c), Shubham Khajuria, Rohit Sharma, Abdul Samad, Vivrant Sharma, Qamran Iqbal, Kawalpreet Singh, Sahil Lotra, Abid Mushtaq, Vanshaj Sharma, Yawer Hassan, Musaif Aijaz, Sunil Kumar, Umran Malik, Umar Nazir, Kanhaiya Wadhawan, Yudhvir Singh, Mujtaba Yousuf, Lone Nasir Muzaffar, Auqib Nabi.
Odisha
Subhranshu Senapati (c), Swastik Samal (vc), Gourav Choudhary, Sandeep Pattanaik, Govinda Poddar, Aashirwad Swain (wk), Rajesh Dhupar (wk), Anil Parida, Sambit Baral, Sumit Sharma, Badal Biswal, Sunil Roul, Rajesh Mohanty, Tarani Sa, Tapas Das.
Chhattisgarh
Amandeep Khare (c), Ayush Pandey, Aditya Sarwate, Ajay Mandal, Anuj Tiwari, Arafat Khan, Ashish Chouhan, Ashutosh Singh, Prateek Yadav, M Ravi Kiran, Sahban Khan, Sanjeet Desai, Shashank Chandrakar (wk), Shashank Singh, Shubham Agrawal, Sourabh Majumdar, Vasudev Bareth.
Madhya Pradesh
Rajat Patidar (c), Yash Dubey, Harsh Gawli, Shubham Sharma, Himanshu Mantri, Harpreet Singh, Venkatesh Iyer, Sagar Solanki, Kumar Kartikey, Saransh Jain, Adheer Pratap, 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 Mhatre, Musheer Khan, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Akhil Herwadkar, Ajinkya Rahane, Sarfaraz Khan, Siddhesh Lad, Suved Parkar, Suryansh Shedge, Akash Parkar, Tushar Deshpande, Sylvester Dsouza, Irfan Umair, Roystan Dias, Pratik Mishra, Akash Anand (wk), Hardik Tamore (wk), Prasad Pawar (wk), Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Himanshu Singh, Atharva Ankolekar, Ishan Mulchandani.
Nagaland
Sedezhalie Rupreo, Nzanthung Mozhui, Hem Bahadur Chetri, Jonathan Rongsen, Tohuka Zhimo, Imiwati Lemtur, Yugandhar Singh, Odilemba Kichu, Dip Borah, Saurav Kumar, Vino G Zhimo, Tahmeed Rahman, and guest players Nischal Dega, Chetan Bisht, Ronit More.
Bengal
Abhimanyu Easwaran (c), Abishek Porel (vc & wk), Sudip Kumar Gharami, Anustup Majumdar, Sudip Chatterjee, Sumanta Gupta, Saurabh Kumar Singh, Vishal Bhati, Mohammed Shami, Akash Deep, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Shakir Habib Gandhi (wk), Ishan Porel, Kazi Junaid Saifi, Rahul Prasad, Sumit Mohanta and Vikash Singh.
The rest of the squads will be updated after they are announced.
Where to watch the Ranji Trophy 2025/26?
A select few matches will be broadcast live on TV by Star Sports, while JioHostar will live stream the matches on its app and website. You can check the scorecards of all matches on BCCI’s official website.
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