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New Delhi: The 91st edition of India's premier domestic first-class competition, Ranji Trophy, is set to commence from October 15. All eyes would be on the possible return of Rishabh Pant, the entry of emerging stars and the exhibition of the veterans who would be fighting for relevance from Wednesday.
Undoubtedly one of the toughest red-ball tournament, the Ranji Trophy is set to feature 38 teams which would be engaged in a battle for the final glory across 19 venues in the country. As per the tradition, the total number of the teams would be divided into Elite and Plate groups so as to maintain some high standard of quality in the competition.
Rishabh Pant's possible return is surely going to be the highlight of the season as the Indian wicketkeeper-batter is set for return in the first phase. Pant is out of action since a delivery from Chris Woakes fractured his toe at Manchester in July, and his rehabilitation at the BCCI Centre of Excellence is on the right track. But his name is missing from Delhi's squad of 24 players for the opening match against Hyderabad.
Meanwhile late on Tuesday evening, it was learnt that Shivam Dube will miss the opening game between Mumbai and Jammu & Kashmir in Srinagar due to back stiffness. The all-rounder flew back to Mumbai after cold weather in the city worsened his back pain.
Senior Indian players like Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul and youngster Sai Sudharsan are all in line to play the tournament after head coach Gautam Gambhir stressed for serious match practice ahead of the South Africa Test series. Jadeja, Sudharsan and Devdutt Paddikal are all set to take to the field for the domestic competition as these player would not be a part of the Australia tour. Rahul, Dhruv Jurel and Prasidh Krishna will join their respective state sides after the Australia ODIs finish.
Dates
The first phase of the Ranji Trophy will be played between October 15-18 and November 16-19 before the teams disperse for the limited-overs events. They will assemble back for the Ranji Trophy second phase , beginning from January 22, 2026 and it will culminate with the final starting on February 24, 2026.
Total teams, format, group
A total of 38 teams would be participating divided into four equal groups of eight teams each in the Elite bracket and the remaining six playing in the Plate category. A total of 138 games would be played across 19 different venues in India. The top two teams from each Elite group (Elite group A, B, C, D) at the culmination of the league stage will qualify for the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, the winner of the Plate group will replace the worst-performing Elite group side in terms of both points and the quotient the next season in a fair promotion-relegation structure.
Elite A: TN, Baroda, Jharkhand, Odisha, UP, Andhra, Nagaland, VidarbhaElite B: Saurashtra, Chandigarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, MP, Punjab, Goa, KeralaElite C: Gujarat, Haryana, Services, Bengal, Railways, Tripura, Uttarakhand, AssamElite D: Mumbai, J&K, HP, Delhi, Hyderabad, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, PuducherryPlate: Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim, Manipur, Arunachal, Bihar
Live telecast and streaming
The live telecast of Ranji Trophy matches for the 2025-26 season will be available on the Star Sports Network channels. Fans can catch the live streaming on the Jio Hotstar app and website.
