Ranji Trophy 2026-27 bugle sounds: The excitement will start from October 11, see complete schedule, format, groups and key players

The most prestigious and historic first-class tournament of Indian domestic cricket. ranji trophy 2026-27 The trumpet of the new session has been sounded. This tournament organized by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will start from 11 October 2026 and run till March 2027. Teams from 38 state associations across the country will face each other in this mega match of the prestigious red ball. Like previous seasons, this time too the tournament is being organized in two phases, so that the players can get adequate rest and balance between the white ball tournaments (Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy). The team of Jammu and Kashmir, which had registered a historic title win in the last season, will enter the field as the defending champion, while the legendary teams like Mumbai, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Bengal will try their best to prove their supremacy.

A total of 38 teams are participating in the Ranji Trophy 2026-27, divided into two main divisions—Elite and Plate.

• Elite Division: It includes the top 32 teams in the country, divided into 4 groups (Group A, B, C and D) of 8 teams each. The top 2 teams from each group will qualify directly for the knockout quarter-final stage.

• Plate Division: 6 teams from North-Eastern and Emerging Cricket Associations (Sikkim, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh) have been placed in the Plate Group. The top teams of the plate group will play semi-finals and finals, and the winning team will be promoted to the elite division for the next season.

• Competition in two phases: The first phase will start from October 11 and continue till the first week of November, in which the initial league matches will be played. After this, after the completion of white ball domestic tournaments, the remaining league matches and knockout stages (quarterfinals, semi-finals and final) will be played from January 2027.

The first round of the tournament will be played from 11 to 14 October 2026, in which a total of 19 matches will start simultaneously in the first round on different grounds of the country.

Key matches of Round 1 (11 to 14 October 2026):

• Mumbai vs Chandigarh – Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

• bengal vs delhi – Bengal Cricket Academy Ground, Kalyani

• Jammu and Kashmir vs Madhya Pradesh – Sher-e-Kashmir Stadium, Srinagar

• Andhra vs Karnataka – ACA Cricket Ground, Mulapadu

• Bihar vs Uttar Pradesh – Rajgir International Cricket Stadium, Nalanda

• Rajasthan vs Tamil Nadu – Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur

• Haryana vs Himachal Pradesh – Chaudhary Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium, Rohtak

• Saurashtra vs Chhattisgarh – Niranjan Shah Stadium, Rajkot

• punjab vs assam – Maharaja Yadvinder Singh Stadium, Mullanpur

• Jharkhand vs Kerala – Keenan Stadium, Jamshedpur

After this, the second round will be played from 18 to 21 October, the third round from 26 to 29 October and the fourth round from 2 to 5 November 2026.

This time, BCCI has included many new and modern stadiums along with traditional grounds for organizing matches. The matches will be held at major centers like Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium and CCI Brabourne, Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium, Jaipur’s Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Delhi’s Palam Ground, Kanpur’s Green Park, Nagpur’s VCA Stadium and Mohali/Mullanpur. Along with this, Ranji matches will also be played at the newly constructed Rajgir International Cricket Stadium in Bihar and the grounds of Shillong, Dimapur and Rangpo in the North-East, which will give the local spectators a chance to watch top level cricket.

This Ranji season is going to prove to be very important for the Indian players in terms of the upcoming international Test series and India-A tours. The members of the National Selection Committee will keep a direct eye on all the major matches. Along with the legends of domestic cricket, many star players of the Indian team will also be seen playing for their respective state teams amidst international commitments. Tamil Nadu is being commanded by R Sai Kishore, which includes players like Washington Sundar, N Jagadeesan and Baba Inderjit. Mumbai’s strong batting lineup, Karnataka’s balanced team, Uttar Pradesh’s emerging fast bowlers and experienced Ranji specialists from Saurashtra-Madhya Pradesh are ready to give their best performance on the field. This tournament will prove to be the biggest platform for young talents to knock on the doors of Team India.