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Ranji Trophy

First-class cricket championship in India


First-class cricket championship in India

FieldValue
nameRanji Trophy
imageRanji_Trophy_logo.png
administratorBCCI
cricket formatFirst-class cricket
first1934–35
last2024–25
tournament formatRound-robin, then knockout
participants38
qualificationIrani Cup
championsVidarbha (3rd title)
most successfulMumbai (42 times)
most runsWasim Jaffer (12,038)
1996–2020
most wicketsRajinder Goel (640)
1958–1985
headquartersMumbai
TVJioHotstar
longest continuous championMumbai
website
current2025–26

1996–2020 1958–1985 The Ranji Trophy is a premier domestic first-class cricket championship played in India. It is organized annually by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Teams representing regional and state cricket associations take part in the tournament. The BCCI founded the championship in 1934, and since then, it has been organised across various grounds and stadiums in India.

The competition currently consists of 38 teams, including at least one team from each of the 28 states of India and four of the eight union territories. When the tournament was founded, it was named "the Cricket Championship of India", in 1935 it was renamed after Ranjitsinhji, who was the first Indian to play international cricket. He played for England from 1896 to 1902.

The Mumbai cricket team is the most successful team of the tournament, with a record 42 titles to their name.

The Vidarbha cricket team is the current champion after winning the 2024–25 final over Kerala cricket team at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground.

History

The idea of a national level, first class championship tournament was proposed by BCCI's founder A.S. De Mello. The competition was launched following BCCI's meeting at Shimla in July 1934, with the first fixtures taking place in 1934–35 .Initially the tournament was named as 'The cricket championship of India', it later was renamed. The trophy was donated by Bhupinder Singh, the Maharaja of Patiala in memory of Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji, Jam Sahib of Nawanagar who had died the previous year. The first match of the competition was held on 4 November 1934 between Madras and Mysore at the Chepauk ground in Madras (Now Chennai). Mumbai (Bombay) has won the tournament the most times with 42 wins, including 15 back-to-back wins from 1958–59 to 1972–73.

In 2015, Paytm became the first company to hold the tournament's title sponsorship right by virtue of BCCI's title sponsorship deal.

The 2020–21 Ranji Trophy tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the first season since the tournament's inception that it was not held.

Participants

State and regional teams with first-class status and owned–operated by BCCI members play in the Ranji Trophy. Most associations are regional such as the Mumbai Cricket Association or the Karnataka State Cricket Association, while Railways and Services are pan-Indian.

All 28 states of India are represented, as are four of the eight union territories: Delhi, Chandigarh, Puducherry, and Jammu and Kashmir (which also represents the union territory of Ladakh). In addition, four teams represent regions within states: Mumbai and Vidarbha (both within Maharashtra) and Saurashtra and Baroda (both within Gujarat), though Maharashtra and Gujarat play as separate teams; and there are two pan-Indian teams: Railways, representing Indian Railways, and Services, representing the Indian Armed Forces. The state of Telangana is represented by the Hyderabad cricket team.

Current teams

The following 38 teams currently participate in the Ranji Trophy:

TeamHome ground/sFirst seasonFirst titleLast titleTotal titles
AndhraACA-VDCA International Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam1953–54
Arunachal Pradesh2018–19
AssamACA Stadium, Guwahati1948–49
BarodaMoti Bagh Stadium, Vadodara1937–381942–432000–015
BengalEden Gardens, Kolkata1935–361938–391989–902
BiharRajgir International Stadium, Nalanda1936–37
ChhattisgarhNava Raipur International Stadium, Naya Raipur2016–17
ChandigarhSector 16 Stadium, Chandigarh2019–20
DelhiArun Jaitley Stadium1934–351978–792007–087
GoaDr. Rajendra Prasad Stadium, Margao1985–86
GujaratNarendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad1935–362016–172016–171
HaryanaChaudhary Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium, Rohtak1970–711990–911990–911
Himachal PradeshHPCA Stadium, Dharamsala1985–86
HyderabadHyderabad Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad1934–351937–381986–872
Jammu and KashmirSher-e-Kashmir Stadium, Srinagar1959–60
JharkhandJSCA International Stadium Complex, Ranchi2004–05
KarnatakaM. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore1934–351973–742014–158
KeralaTrivandrum International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram1957–58
Madhya PradeshHolkar Stadium, Indore1941–421945–462021–225
MaharashtraMaharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune1934–351939–401940–412
Manipur2018–19
MeghalayaMeghalaya Cricket Association Cricket Ground, Shillong2018–19
Mizoram2018–19
MumbaiWankhede Stadium, Mumbai1934–351934–352023–2442
NagalandNagaland Cricket Association Stadium, Sovima2018–19
OdishaBarabati Stadium, Cuttack1949–50
PondicherryCAP Siechem Ground, Puducherry2018–19
PunjabInderjit Singh Bindra Stadium, Mohali1968–691992–931992–931
RailwaysKarnail Singh Stadium, New Delhi1958–592001–022004–052
RajasthanSawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur1935–362010–112011–122
SaurashtraSaurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot1936–372019–202022–232
SikkimMining Cricket Stadium, Rangpo2018–19
ServicesPalam A Stadium, New Delhi1949–50
Tamil NaduM. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai1934–351954–551987–882
TripuraMaharaja Bir Bikram College Stadium, Agartala1985–86
Uttar PradeshBRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow1934–352005–062005–061
UttarakhandRajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Dehradun2018–19
VidarbhaNew VCA Stadium, Nagpur1957–582017–182024–253

Defunct teams

The following teams have appeared in the Ranji Trophy, but no longer do so, partly because Indian states have merged and created over the years:

  • Central India (1934/35 – 1940/41)
  • Central Provinces and Berar (1934/35 – 1949/50)
  • Northern India (1934/35 – 1946/47)
  • Sind (1934/35 – 1947/48)
  • Southern Punjab (1934/35 – 1951/52, 1959/60 – 1967/68)
  • Western India (1934/35 – 1945/46)
  • Nawanagar (1936/37 – 1947/48)
  • North West Frontier Province (1937/38 – 1946/47)
  • Holkar (1941/42 – 1954/55)
  • Gwalior (1943/44)
  • Patiala/Patiala and Eastern Punjab States Union (1948/49, 1953/54 – 1958/59)
  • Eastern Punjab (1950/51 – 1959/60)
  • Travancore-Cochin (1951/52 – 1956/57)
  • Madhya Bharat (1955/56 – 1956/57)
  • Northern Punjab (1960/61 – 1967/68)

Stadiums

StadiumCityCapacityHome team
Narendra Modi StadiumAhmedabad132,000Gujarat
Eden GardensKolkata68,000Bengal
Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket StadiumRaipur65,000Chhattisgarh
Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket StadiumHyderabad55,000Hyderabad
Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket StadiumLucknow55,000Uttar Pradesh
Greenfield International StadiumThiruvananthapuram55,000Kerala
JSCA International Cricket StadiumRanchi50,000Jharkhand
Barabati StadiumCuttack45,000Odisha
Rajgir International Cricket StadiumNalanda45,000Bihar
Vidarbha Cricket Association StadiumNagpur45,000Vidarbha
Arun Jaitley StadiumNew Delhi41,842Delhi
M. Chinnaswamy StadiumBangalore40,000Karnataka
Dr. Bhupen Hazarika Cricket StadiumGuwahati40,000Assam
Maharashtra Cricket Association StadiumPune37,406Maharashtra
M. A. Chidambaram StadiumChennai33,500Tamil Nadu
Wankhede StadiumMumbai33,108Mumbai
Holkar StadiumIndore30,000Madhya Pradesh
Maharaja Bir Bikram College StadiumAgartala30,000Tripura
Sector 16 StadiumChandigarh30,000Chandigarh
Saurashtra Cricket Association StadiumRajkot28,000Saurashtra
Inderjit Singh Bindra StadiumMohali26,000Punjab
Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy International Cricket StadiumVisakhapatnam25,000Andhra
Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association StadiumDharamshala25,000Himachal Pradesh
Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket StadiumDehradun25,000Uttarakhand
Sawai Mansingh StadiumJaipur23,185Rajasthan
Moti Bagh StadiumVadodara18,000Baroda
Mining Cricket StadiumRangpo17,500Sikkim

Format

From the Ranji Trophy's inception until the 2001 season (with the exception of 1948–49 season), the teams were grouped geographically into four or five zones – North, West, East, and South, with Central added in 1952–53. Initial matches were played within the zones on a knock-out basis until 1956–57, and thereafter on a league basis, to determine a winner; then, the five individual zone winners competed in a knock-out tournament, leading to a final which decided the winner of the Ranji Trophy. From the 1970–71 season, the knock-out stage was expanded to the top two teams from each zone, a total of ten qualifying teams. This was expanded again to the top three from each zone in 1992–93, a total of fifteen qualifying teams; between 1996–97 and 1999–2000, the fifteen qualifying teams competed in a secondary group stage, with three groups of five teams, and the top two from each group qualified for a six-team knock-out stage; in all other years until 2001–02, a full fifteen-team knock-out tournament was held.

The format was changed in the 2002–03 season with the zonal system abandoned and a two-division structure adopted – the Elite Group, containing fifteen teams, and the Plate Group, containing the rest. Each group had two sub-groups which played a round-robin; the top two from each Elite sub-group then contested a four-team knock-out tournament to determine the winner of the Ranji Trophy. The team which finished last in each Elite sub-group was relegated, and both Plate Group finalists were promoted for the following season. For the 2006–07 season, the divisions were re-labelled the Super League and Plate League respectively.

In the 2008–09 season, this format was adjusted to give both Super League and Plate League teams an opportunity to contest the Ranji Trophy. The top two from each Plate sub-group contested semi-finals; the winners of these two matches then joined the top three from each Super League sub-group in an eight-team knock-out tournament. The winner of this knock-out tournament then won the Ranji Trophy. Promotion and relegation between Super League and Plate League continued as before. In the 2010–11 season, Rajasthan won the Ranji Trophy after beginning the season in the Plate League.

From the 2012–13 season, this format was adjusted slightly. The Super League and Plate League names were abandoned, but the two-tier system remained. The top tier expanded from fifteen teams to eighteen teams, in two sub-groups of nine (known as Group A and Group B, and considered equal in status); and the second tier was reduced to nine teams in a single group (known as Group C). The top three teams from Groups A and B and the top two from Group C contest the knockout phase. The lowest placed team in each of Group A and Group B is relegated to Group C, and the top two from Group C are promoted to the top tier.

For the 2017–18 season, the two-tier system was abandoned to have 4 groups of seven teams each and two quarter-finalists from each group.

From the 2018–19 season, the teams contested in three-tiers. Five teams will qualify for the quarter-finals from the top tier (known as Elite Group A and Group B). Two teams will qualify from the second-tier (Elite Group C) and one team from the lower-tier (Plate Group) for the quarter-finals.

Round-robin matches are four days in length; knockout matches are played for five days. Throughout its history, if there is no outright result in a Ranji Trophy knock-out match, the team leading after the first innings is the winner.

Prior to the 2016–17 season, matches were played at the home ground of one of the two teams taking part. For the 2016–17 edition, the BCCI decided that all games would be staged at a neutral venues.

Points distribution system

Points in the league stages of both divisions are currently awarded as follows:

ScenarioPoints
Win outright6
Bonus point for inning or 10 wicket win1
First innings lead in a drawn match3
No result1
Tie in first inning's score in a drawn match1
Loss on the first innings1
Lost outright0
Tie on both innings3

Tournament records

Main article: List of Ranji Trophy records

Team records
Most trophies wins
Highest team score
Lowest team score
Individual match records
Highest individual innings
Best innings bowling
Best match bowling
Individual season records
Most runs in a season
Most centuries in a season
Most wickets in a season
Individual career records
Most career matches
Most career runs
Most career centuries
Highest career batting average
Most career wickets

† Some sources credit Goel with 636 or 640 wickets instead – see Rajinder Goel article for details.

Winners

The following teams have won the tournament:

SeasonWinnerRunner-upWinning CaptainVenue
1934–35BombayNorthern IndiaL. P. JaiBombay Gymkhana, Bombay
1935–36BombayMadrasHormasji Vajifdar
1936–37NawanagarBengalAlbert Wensley
1937–38HyderabadNawanagarSM Hussain
1938–39BengalSouthern PunjabTom Longfield
1939–40MaharashtraUnited ProvincesD. B. DeodharPoona Gymkhana, Pune
1940–41MaharashtraMadrasD. B. DeodharChepauk, Madras
1941–42BombayMysoreVijay Merchant
1942–43BarodaHyderabadW.Ghorpade
1943–44Western IndiaBengalHerbert Barritt
1944–45BombayHolkarVijay Merchant
1945–46HolkarBarodaC. K. Nayudu
1946–47BarodaHolkarRaosaheb Nimbalkar
1947–48HolkarBombayC. K. Nayudu
1948–49BombayBarodaK. C. Ibrahim
1949–50BarodaHolkarRaosaheb Nimbalkar
1950–51HolkarGujaratC. K. Nayudu
1951–52BombayHolkarMadhav MantriBrabourne Stadium, Mumbai
1952–53HolkarBengalC. K. Nayudu
1953–54BombayHolkarRanga Sohoni
1954–55MadrasHolkarBalu AlagananYeshwant Club, Indore
1955–56BombayBengalMadhav Mantri
1956–57BombayServicesMadhav Mantri
1957–58BarodaServicesDatta Gaekwad
1958–59BombayBengalMadhav Apte
1959–60BombayMysorePolly Umrigar
1960–61BombayRajasthanPolly Umrigar
1961–62BombayRajasthanMadhav ApteBrabourne, Mumbai
1962–63BombayRajasthanPolly Umrigar
1963–64BombayRajasthanBapu Nadkarni
1964–65BombayHyderabadBapu Nadkarni
1965–66BombayRajasthanBapu Nadkarni
1966–67BombayRajasthanManohar Hardikar
1967–68BombayMadrasManohar Hardikar
1968–69BombayBengalAjit Wadekar
1969–70BombayRajasthanAjit Wadekar
1970–71BombayMaharashtraSudhir NaikBrabourne Stadium, Mumbai
1971–72BombayBengalAjit WadekarBrabourne Stadium, Mumbai
1972–73BombayTamil NaduAjit WadekarChepauk, Chennai
1973–74KarnatakaRajasthanE. A. S. Prasanna
1974–75BombayKarnatakaAshok Mankad
1975–76BombayBiharAshok Mankad
1976–77BombayDelhiSunil Gavaskar
1977–78KarnatakaUttar PradeshE. A. S. Prasanna
1978–79DelhiKarnatakaBishan Singh BediChinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
1979–80DelhiBombayBishan Singh Bedi
1980–81BombayDelhiEknath SolkarWankhede Stadium, Mumbai
1981–82DelhiKarnatakaMohinder AmarnathFeroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
1982–83KarnatakaBombayBrijesh Patel
1983–84BombayDelhiSunil Gavaskar
1984–85BombayDelhiSunil Gavaskar
1985–86DelhiHaryanaMadan Lal
1986–87HyderabadDelhiM. V. Narasimha Rao
1987–88Tamil NaduRailwaysS. Vasudevan
1988–89DelhiBengalMadan Lal
1989–90BengalDelhiSambaran Banerjee
1990–91HaryanaBombayKapil Dev
1991–92DelhiTamil NaduAjay Sharma
1992–93PunjabMaharashtraGursharan Singh
1993–94BombayBengalRavi Shastri
1994–95BombayPunjabSachin Tendulkar
1995–96KarnatakaTamil NaduAnil Kumble
1996–97MumbaiDelhiSanjay Manjrekar
1997–98KarnatakaUttar PradeshRahul Dravid
1998–99KarnatakaMadhya PradeshSunil JoshiBangalore
1999–00MumbaiHyderabadSameer DigheWankhede Stadium, Mumbai
2000–01BarodaRailwaysJacob MartinVadodara
2001–02RailwaysBarodaAbhay Sharma
2002–03MumbaiTamil NaduParas Mhambrey
2003–04MumbaiTamil NaduSairaj Bahutule
2004–05RailwaysPunjabSanjay Bangar
2005–06Uttar PradeshBengalMohammad Kaif
2006–07MumbaiBengalAmol Muzumdar
2007–08DelhiUttar PradeshGautam Gambhir
2008–09MumbaiUttar PradeshWasim Jaffer
2009–10MumbaiKarnatakaWasim Jaffer
2010–11RajasthanBarodaHrishikesh Kanitkar
2011–12RajasthanTamil NaduHrishikesh Kanitkar
2012–13MumbaiSaurashtraAjit Agarkar
2013–14KarnatakaMaharashtraVinay Kumar
2014–15KarnatakaTamil NaduVinay Kumar
2015–16MumbaiSaurashtraAditya Tare
2016–17GujaratMumbaiParthiv Patel
2017–18VidarbhaDelhiFaiz FazalHolkar Stadium, Indore
2018–19VidarbhaSaurashtraFaiz FazalNagpur
2019–20SaurashtraBengalJaydev UnadkatRajkot
2020-21-Not Held-Canceled / due to covid
2021–22Madhya PradeshMumbaiAditya ShrivastavaBangalore
2022–23SaurashtraBengalJaydev Unadkat
2023–24MumbaiVidarbhaAjinkya RahaneWankhede Stadium, Mumbai
2024–25VidarbhaAkshay WadkarVCA, Nagpur

Finals appearances by team

Mumbai/Bombay have played in 48 finals and have won total 42 Ranji Trophy championships, the most by any team.

TeamWinnerWin %Last win
Mumbai / Bombay42687.5
Karnataka / Mysore8657.1
Delhi7846.7
Madhya Pradesh / Holkar5741.7
Baroda5455.6
Saurashtra / Western India / Nawanagar4450
Vidarbha3175
Bengal21313.33
Tamil Nadu / Madras21016.7
Rajasthan / Rajputana2820.0
Hyderabad2340.0
Maharashtra2340.0
Railways2250.0
Uttar Pradesh / United Provinces1516.7
Punjab / Southern Punjab1325
Haryana1150.0
Gujarat1150.0
Services020.0
Bihar010.0
Northern India010.0
Kerala010.0

Broadcasting

Sports18 TV channel and JioCinema has exclusive rights to broadcast the trophy live on television and online respectively. BCCI's website runs match highlights. Star Sports and Disney+ Hotstar broadcast the tournament until 2022.

Salary

CategoryMatches playedSalary Per match
Seniors40 or more₹2.4 lakh
Mid Seniors20-39₹2 lakh
JuniorsUnder 20₹1.6 lakh

Notes

References

References

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  7. Kishore, Shashank. (2 March 2025). "Nair, Malewar and bowlers lead Vidarbha to third Ranji Trophy title". ESPNcricinfo.
  8. "The Ranji Trophy". ESPNcricinfo.
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  12. (30 January 2021). "No Ranji Trophy for first time in 87 years". The Hindu.
  13. (30 January 2021). "No Ranji Trophy For First Time in 87 Years, BCCI Opts For Vijay Hazare Trophy".
  14. "BCCI Venues – Narendra Modi Stadium".
  15. "BCCI Venues – Eden Gardens".
  16. "BCCI Venues – Rajiv Gandhi Stadium".
  17. "BCCI Venues – Arun Jaitley Stadium".
  18. "BCCI Venues – M Chinnaswamy Stadium".
  19. "BCCI Venues – M A Chidambaram Stadium".
  20. "BCCI Venues – Wankhede Stadium".
  21. (13 September 2022). "For first time Sikkim to host Ranji Trophy matches, Himalayan state allotted three fixtures".
  22. (24 June 2016). "Ranji Trophy to be held at neutral venues, confirms BCCI".
  23. Compiled from [http://cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Records/Firstclass/Overall/index.html Overall First-Class Records] {{Webarchive. link. (22 February 2007 at CricketArchive.)
  24. [http://cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/58/58339.html Match scorecard]. CricketArchive (1994-01-11). Retrieved on 2013-12-06.
  25. [http://cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/15/15292.html Match scorecard]. CricketArchive (1935-02-06). Retrieved on 2013-12-06.
  26. [http://cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/18/18737.html Match scorecard]. CricketArchive (1948-12-18). Retrieved on 2013-12-06.
  27. [http://cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/22/22337.html Match scorecard]. CricketArchive (1957-01-29). Retrieved on 2013-12-06.
  28. [http://cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/60/60019.html Match scorecard]. CricketArchive (1995-01-17). Retrieved on 2013-12-06.
  29. From ''[[Indian Cricket (annual). Indian Cricket 2004]]'', published by ''[[The Hindu]]'', 2004
  30. "'My time under the sun is over' – domestic giant Wasim Jaffer retires at 42". ESPNcricinfo.
  31. Partab Ramchand. (19 February 2000). "Ajay Sharma in elite company". ESPNcricinfo.
  32. Anil Gulati. (30 June 2001). "I was born at the wrong time: Rajinder Goel". ESPNcricinfo.
  33. "Viacom18 bags BCCI media rights....".
  34. (12 December 2012). "Ranji Trophy 2022/23, where to watch live: TV channels, match timings and live streaming".
  35. "The Board of Control for Cricket in India".
  36. (2024-03-24). "Ranji Trophy players to get a fee hike as BCCI looks to improve remuneration".
  37. (2024-03-24). "Ranji Trophy players to get a fee hike as BCCI looks to improve remuneration".
  38. (22 April 2019). "Nani-starrer 'Jersey', garners praise from cricket buffs".
  39. "Saurashtra (And Kathiawar) Cricket Team 2024 Schedules, Fixtures & Results, Time Table, Matches and upcoming series". ESPNcricinfo.
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