Ranji Trophy 2026-27 schedule: groups, fixtures, format and where to watch
The 92nd Ranji Trophy runs from 11 October 2026 to 3 March 2027, with 38 teams split into four Elite groups and a Plate group. Here is every group, the round-by-round dates, the opening fixtures, the knockout pairings and the points system.
Oct 9, 2024 · Updated Oct 12, 2026
The Ranji Trophy 2026-27 began on Sunday, 11 October 2026 and runs to 3 March 2027. It is the 92nd edition of India’s first-class championship: 38 teams, 32 of them in four Elite groups of eight and six in the Plate group, playing 135 matches between them. Jammu and Kashmir start as defending champions, and the final is scheduled for 27 February to 3 March 2027.
The season is split in two. Four Elite rounds are played before 5 November, the domestic calendar then hands over to the white-ball tournaments, and the last three rounds come back from 17 January. The full schedule, groups, opening fixtures, points system and broadcast details are below.
Ranji Trophy 2026-27 at a glance
| Detail | 2026-27 season |
|---|---|
| Edition | 92nd |
| Dates | 11 October 2026 to 3 March 2027 |
| Teams | 38 (32 Elite in four groups of eight, 6 Plate) |
| Matches | 135 (119 in the Elite division) |
| League phase 1 | 11 October to 5 November 2026 (rounds 1-4) |
| League phase 2 | 17 January to 4 February 2027 (rounds 5-7) |
| Quarter-finals | 9-13 February 2027 |
| Semi-finals | 18-22 February 2027 |
| Final | 27 February to 3 March 2027 |
| Defending champions | Jammu and Kashmir |
| Where to watch | Selected matches on the Star Sports network (TV) and JioHotstar (streaming) |
Ranji Trophy 2026-27 groups
Each Elite group has eight teams, and every team plays the other seven once, so the league stage is seven matches per side. Bihar are the one new name in the Elite division this season, up from the Plate group, while Nagaland have gone the other way.
| Group | Teams |
|---|---|
| Elite A | Baroda, Bihar, Goa, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Uttar Pradesh, Vidarbha |
| Elite B | Andhra, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Hyderabad, Karnataka, Punjab, Saurashtra, Tripura |
| Elite C | Bengal, Delhi, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Services |
| Elite D | Chandigarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Mumbai, Railways, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand |
| Plate | Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim |
The draw has put the last two champions in the same group. Jammu and Kashmir won the title in 2025-26 and Vidarbha won it in 2024-25, and both are in Elite A, where only two of the eight reach the quarter-finals. Karnataka, beaten in last season’s final, are in Elite B. Mumbai, champions in 2023-24 and winners of a record 42 titles, are in Elite D with Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan.
Ranji Trophy 2026 schedule: round-by-round dates
League matches are four days long and most start at 9.30am local time. Every knockout match, including the final, is scheduled over five days.
| Stage | Dates |
|---|---|
| Round 1 | 11-14 October 2026 |
| Round 2 | 18-21 October 2026 |
| Round 3 | 26-29 October 2026 |
| Round 4 | 2-5 November 2026 |
| Break for the white-ball tournaments | November 2026 to mid-January 2027 |
| Round 5 | 17-20 January 2027 |
| Round 6 | 24-27 January 2027 |
| Round 7 | 1-4 February 2027 |
| Quarter-finals | 9-13 February 2027 |
| Semi-finals | 18-22 February 2027 |
| Final | 27 February to 3 March 2027 |
Rounds 3 and 4 start on a Monday rather than the usual Sunday. Knockout venues had not been named when the schedule was released.
Round 1 fixtures and venues (11-14 October)
| Group | Match | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| A | Bihar vs Uttar Pradesh | Rajgir International Cricket Stadium, Rajgir |
| A | Goa vs Baroda | Bhausaheb Bandodkar Ground, Goa |
| A | Vidarbha vs Puducherry | VCA Stadium, Nagpur |
| A | Jammu and Kashmir vs Madhya Pradesh | Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium, Srinagar |
| B | Saurashtra vs Chhattisgarh | Niranjan Shah Stadium, Rajkot |
| B | Punjab vs Assam | PCA Stadium Ground A, New Chandigarh |
| B | Andhra vs Karnataka | ACA Cricket Ground, Vijayawada |
| B | Hyderabad vs Tripura | Gymkhana Ground, Hyderabad |
| C | Bengal vs Delhi | Bengal Cricket Academy Ground, Kalyani |
| C | Jharkhand vs Kerala | Keenan Stadium, Jamshedpur |
| C | Services vs Maharashtra | Palam A Stadium, Delhi |
| C | Gujarat vs Odisha | Narendra Modi Stadium B Ground, Ahmedabad |
| D | Mumbai vs Chandigarh | Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai |
| D | Rajasthan vs Tamil Nadu | Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur |
| D | Railways vs Uttarakhand | Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai |
| D | Haryana vs Himachal Pradesh | Ch Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium, Rohtak |
Srinagar, which staged the Irani Cup at the start of October, hosts the champions in each of the first two rounds. Karnataka’s trip to Vijayawada brings KL Rahul back into their side. Ground guides for several of these venues: Wankhede, Sawai Mansingh, Rajkot and Nagpur.
Round 2 fixtures and venues (18-21 October)
| Group | Match | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| A | Baroda vs Bihar | Reliance Stadium, Vadodara |
| A | Puducherry vs Madhya Pradesh | CAP Siechem Ground, Puducherry |
| A | Jammu and Kashmir vs Vidarbha | Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium, Srinagar |
| A | Uttar Pradesh vs Goa | Green Park, Kanpur |
| B | Assam vs Tripura | Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati |
| B | Andhra vs Hyderabad | Dr PVG Raju ACA Sports Complex, Vizianagaram |
| B | Karnataka vs Saurashtra | KSCA Cricket Ground, Alur |
| B | Punjab vs Chhattisgarh | PCA Stadium Ground A, New Chandigarh |
| C | Delhi vs Gujarat | Palam B Stadium, Delhi |
| C | Services vs Bengal | Palam A Stadium, Delhi |
| C | Kerala vs Odisha | Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram |
| C | Maharashtra vs Jharkhand | MCA Stadium, Pune |
| D | Haryana vs Chandigarh | Ch Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium, Rohtak |
| D | Himachal Pradesh vs Mumbai | HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala |
| D | Tamil Nadu vs Uttarakhand | MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai |
| D | Rajasthan vs Railways | Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur |
Round 2 has the first meeting of former champions: Jammu and Kashmir host Vidarbha in Srinagar. Mumbai go to Dharamsala, and the round also uses Chepauk, Pune and Barsapara.
How does the Ranji Trophy 2026-27 format work?
The top two teams in each Elite group go through to the quarter-finals, which are crossed between groups so that no two sides from the same group can meet in the last eight. The four winners then play two semi-finals, and the semi-final winners meet in the final.
| Match | Pairing |
|---|---|
| Quarter-final 1 | A1 vs C2 |
| Quarter-final 2 | B1 vs D2 |
| Quarter-final 3 | C1 vs A2 |
| Quarter-final 4 | D1 vs B2 |
A drawn knockout is decided on first-innings lead, which is how each of the last two finals was won. Jammu and Kashmir’s 584 against Karnataka’s 293 settled the 2025-26 final at Hubballi, and Vidarbha took the 2024-25 final against Kerala at Nagpur by 379 to 342. In February, a big first-innings total can be as good as a win.
The Plate group runs its own league and final, and the Plate final is scheduled for 24-28 January 2027. Promotion and relegation connect the two tiers, which is how Bihar reached the Elite division for this season and Nagaland dropped out of it.
Ranji Trophy points system
Group positions are decided by points. Ranji matches have been scored on this scale in recent seasons:
| Result | Points |
|---|---|
| Outright win | 6 |
| Bonus for winning by an innings or by 10 wickets | +1 |
| Tie | 3 |
| Draw, with a first-innings lead | 3 |
| Draw, with a first-innings deficit | 1 |
| No result | 1 |
| Loss | 0 |
The gap between a first-innings lead (3) and a deficit (1) is why so many Ranji draws are really decided in the first two days, and it is the same first-innings arithmetic that settles drawn knockout games.
Where to watch the Ranji Trophy 2026-27
Selected matches are shown live on TV on the Star Sports network and streamed on JioHotstar. Coverage does not extend to every game in a round, so check the day’s listings to see which matches are on.
Who are the defending champions?
Jammu and Kashmir. Their 2025-26 title was their first in 67 years of entering the competition and came in their first final. Auqib Nabi finished the season with 60 wickets and the Player of the Series award, and he was called into India’s Test squad in August. Karnataka’s Ravichandran Smaran was the season’s leading run-scorer with 950.
Every champion since 1934-35 is in our Ranji Trophy winners list, and the competition’s biggest numbers are in Ranji Trophy records and the highest individual scores.
Ranji Trophy 2026-27: quick answers
When does the Ranji Trophy 2026-27 start? Round 1 began on 11 October 2026 and runs to 14 October.
When is the Ranji Trophy 2026-27 final? It is scheduled for 27 February to 3 March 2027, venue to be confirmed.
How many teams play in the Ranji Trophy 2026-27? 38: 32 in the Elite division and six in the Plate group.
Why is there a break in the middle of the season? The league stops after round 4 on 5 November so the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy can be played, and resumes on 17 January.