The wait is over! The Ranji Trophy 2025-26 will commence on October 15, 2025, and will conclude on February 28, 2026.

Organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the country’s premier first-class cricket tournament will see as many as 38 teams compete in a total of 138 matches.

As per the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 schedule, the tournament will be staged in a two-phase format, similar to last season. The first phase will be held from October 15 to November 19, while the second leg will run from January 22 to February 1. The Ranji Trophy knockouts will be played from February 6-28.

Meanwhile, these participating teams have been divided into two categories - Elite and Plate. The Elite category has 32 teams split into four groups of eight teams each. On the other hand, there are six teams in the Plate category.

Each team in the Elite category will play the other seven teams in their group once. The top two teams from each elite group will advance to the quarter-finals.

The Plate division will also see each team play the other five sides once. The top two teams will later square off in the Plate final, with the winner securing promotion to the Elite Group for next season, while the bottom team of all four Elite groups combined, factoring in both points and the quotient, will be relegated to the Plate group.

As many as 10 LSG players have been picked to represent their respective teams in the upcoming Ranji season so far.

Two of our very own, Shardul Thakur and Ayush Badoni, will be seen leading Mumbai and Delhi, respectively, in the upcoming Ranji Trophy 2025-26 season. On the other hand, wicketkeeper-batter Aryan Juyal has been named vice-captain of Uttar Pradesh’s Ranji squad for the forthcoming edition.

LSG’s star pacer Akash Deep has been included in Bengal’s squad, while leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi will represent Gujarat in the upcoming season.

The likes of Himmat Singh (Delhi), Abdul Samad (Jammu & Kashmir), Akash Singh (Rajasthan), Arshin Kulkarni (Maharashtra) and Yuvraj Chaudhary (Uttarakhand) will also be in action for their respective sides in the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 edition.

Vidarbha are the defending champions of the Ranji Trophy after they pipped Kerala courtesy of first-innings lead in last season’s final in Nagpur in March.

Player

Team

Ayush Badoni (captain)

Delhi

Shardul Thakur (captain)

Mumbai

Akash Deep

Bengal

Ravi Bishnoi

Gujarat

Aryan Juyal

Uttar Pradesh

Himmat Singh

Delhi

Abdul Samad

Jammu & Kashmir

Akash Singh

Rajasthan

Arshin Kulkarni

Maharashtra

Yuvraj Chaudhary

Uttarakhand