The 92nd season of the Ranji Trophy is set to commence this Sunday in New Delhi. This premier domestic red-ball cricket tournament in India will feature a total of 38 teams.
In the opening round, fans can expect to see several prominent Indian international players, who will later join the ‘India A’ squad for the upcoming red-ball tour of New Zealand.
A key storyline this season will be whether Jammu and Kashmir can defend their title. After a defeat to the Rest of India in the Irani Cup, the team, led by captain Paras Dogra, will aim for a strong comeback against Madhya Pradesh in Srinagar.
The first round of the 2026/27 season promises to be thrilling. Notable players such as KL Rahul (Karnataka), Yashasvi Jaiswal (Mumbai), Ravindra Jadeja (Saurashtra), Mohammed Siraj (Hyderabad), Manav Suthar (Rajasthan), Washington Sundar , Mukesh Kumar, and Akash Deep (Bengal) will represent their respective teams.
For some players, the Ranji Trophy presents a crucial opportunity to make a case for national team selection. This includes Mumbai’s Sarfaraz Khan and Karnataka’s Karun Nair. Young talents like Ayush Mhatre from Mumbai and left-handed opener Shikhar Mohan from Jharkhand will look to establish themselves in red-ball cricket.
Veteran fast bowler Mohammed Shami, who took 37 wickets last season, will also make his return, representing Bengal. Meanwhile, the Delhi team is looking to revitalize its red-ball cricket campaign with a revamped support staff. The team has appointed former Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Vijay Dahiya as head coach and Rajkumar Sharma, the childhood coach of cricket star Virat Kohli, as a mentor.
The four-member selection committee will keep an eye on Vidarbha’s Harsh Dubey, Praful Hinge, Yash Rathore, and ‘s leg-spinner Zeeshan Ansari. Experienced players like Umesh Yadav (Punjab), Harshal Patel (Gujarat), and Mandeep Singh and Hanuma Vihari (both from Tripura) are expected to play mentoring roles.
While the spotlight will be on established stars in the early rounds, it will be interesting to see if new players from domestic cricket can break through and contribute to the national red-ball talent pool.
Meanwhile, Arunachal Pradesh faces the threat of forfeiting its Nagaland due to an ongoing legal dispute between two factions of the Arunachal Cricket Association. It remains to be seen when this legal impasse will be resolved so that the state’s cricketers can showcase their talents.
The groups for the 2026-27 Ranji Trophy season are as follows:
Group A: Bihar, Baroda, Goa, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Uttar Pradesh, and Vidarbha.
Group B: Karnataka, Andhra, Saurashtra, Chhattisgarh, Hyderabad, Tripura, Punjab, and Assam.
Group C: Bengal, Delhi, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Kerala, Maharashtra, Services, and Odisha.
Group D: Mumbai, Rajasthan, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Railways.
Plate Group: Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim, Meghalaya, and Arunachal Pradesh.