Ranji Trophy
{{Short description|Annual cricket championship in India}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{Infobox cricket tournament main
| name = Ranji Trophy
| image = Ranji_Trophy_logo.png
| administrator = BCCI
| cricket format = First-class cricket
| first = 1934–35
| last = 2024–25
| tournament format = Round-robin, then knockout
| participants = 38
| qualification = Irani Cup
| champions = Vidarbha (3rd title)
| most successful = Mumbai (42 times)
| most runs = Wasim Jaffer (12,038)
1996–2020
| most wickets = Rajinder Goel (640)
1958–1985
| headquarters = Mumbai
| TV = JioHotstar{{cite web|url= https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/media/entertainment/media/bcci-media-rights-viacom18-creates-monopoly-wins-for-cricket-games-for-five-years-at-rs-5963-crore/articleshow/103301856.cms|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230902100633/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/media/entertainment/media/bcci-media-rights-viacom18-creates-monopoly-wins-for-cricket-games-for-five-years-at-rs-5963-crore/articleshow/103301856.cms|url-status= dead|archive-date= 2023-09-02|website= economic times.com|title=BCCI media rights Viacom18...}}
| longest continuous champion = Mumbai
| next =
| website = {{URL|https://www.bcci.tv}}
| current = 2024–25
}}
The Ranji Trophy is a premier domestic first-class cricket championship played in India and organized annually by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The teams representing regional and state cricket associations participate. BCCI founded the championship in 1934,{{Cite web|url=https://www.icc-cricket.com/about/members/asia/full/14|title=Board of Control for Cricket in India — History of cricket in India|website=icc-cricket.com|publisher=International Cricket Council|access-date=17 February 2023|archive-date=4 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004130227/https://www.icc-cricket.com/about/members/asia/full/14}} Since then, it has been organised across various grounds and stadiums in India.{{Cite web |title=BCCI awards title sponsorship to IDFC first... |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/sports/bcci-awards-title-sponsorship-rights-to-idfc-first-for-rs-235-crore/articleshow/103071147.cms |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230827015348/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/sports/bcci-awards-title-sponsorship-rights-to-idfc-first-for-rs-235-crore/articleshow/103071147.cms |url-status=dead |archive-date=2023-08-27 |website=Economic times.com}}{{Cite web |title=Ranji trophy 2022–2023 |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/ranji-trophy-2022-23-1332913 |access-date=27 September 2023 |work=ESPNcricinfo}}
The competition currently consists of 38 teams, including at least one team from each of the 28 states of India and four of the eight union territories. When the tournament was founded, it was named "the Cricket Championship of India", in 1935 it was renamed after Ranjitsinhji, who was the first Indian to play international cricket. He played for England from 1896 to 1902.{{Cite web |last=staff |first=ESPNcricinfo |title=The Ranji Trophy |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/the-ranji-trophy-261615 |access-date=1 March 2023 |work=ESPNcricinfo}}{{Efn|Ranjitsinhji played for England cricket team in Tests in early 20th century. He was a prince from Nawanagar princely state and later became king of Nawanagar.}}
The Mumbai cricket team is the most successful team of the tournament, with a record 42 titles to their name.{{Cite news |title= Mumbai win Ranji Trophy for 41st time|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/top-stories/mumbai-win-ranji-trophy-for-41st-time/articleshow/51158226.cms |work=The Times of India |date=26 February 2016 }}
The Vidarbha cricket team is the current champion after winning the 2024–25 final over Kerala cricket team at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground.{{Cite web |title=Nair, Malewar and bowlers lead Vidarbha to third Ranji Trophy title |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/ranji-trophy-2024-25-1445824/vidarbha-vs-kerala-final-1445956/match-report |last=Kishore|first=Shashank|work=ESPNcricinfo |date=2 March 2025 |accessdate=3 March 2025}}
History
{{Expand section|date=February 2023}}
File:Ranjitsinh.jpeg, after whom the tournament is named]]
The idea of a national level, first class championship tournament was proposed by BCCI's founder A.S. De Mello. The competition was launched following BCCI's meeting at Shimla in July 1934,{{Cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/story/261615.html |title=The Ranji Trophy |access-date=27 February 2017 |work=ESPNcricinfo}} with the first fixtures taking place in 1934–35 .Initially the tournament was named as 'The cricket championship of India', it later was renamed.{{Cite web |title=Ranji Trophy: 85 years, and counting |url=https://www.theweek.in/news/sports/2019/02/05/ranji-trophy-85-years-and-counting.html |access-date=2023-02-23 |website=The Week |language=en}} The trophy was donated by Bhupinder Singh, the Maharaja of Patiala in memory of Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji, Jam Sahib of Nawanagar who had died the previous year. The first match of the competition was held on 4 November 1934 between Madras and Mysore at the Chepauk ground in Madras (Now Chennai). Mumbai (Bombay) has won the tournament the most times with 42 wins, including 15 back-to-back wins from 1958–59 to 1972–73.
In 2015, Paytm became the first company to hold the tournament's title sponsorship right by virtue of BCCI's title sponsorship deal.{{Cite web |url=https://www.timesnownews.com/sports/cricket/mastercard-replaces-paytm-as-title-sponsor-for-all-india-international-domestic-home-matches-article-94003654/amp%26ved%3D2ahUKEwiT0brHhav9AhXK2DgGHUemDK0QFnoECBIQBQ%26usg%3DAOvVaw1885-oY8Ya4rQLiJ7ma1j6 |title=Times Now: English News, Today Headlines, Latest News and Updates |access-date=19 August 2023 |archive-date=23 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230223065338/https://www.timesnownews.com/sports/cricket/mastercard-replaces-paytm-as-title-sponsor-for-all-india-international-domestic-home-matches-article-94003654/amp%26ved%3D2ahUKEwiT0brHhav9AhXK2DgGHUemDK0QFnoECBIQBQ%26usg%3DAOvVaw1885-oY8Ya4rQLiJ7ma1j6 |url-status=dead }}
The 2020–21 Ranji Trophy tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic,{{cite web|url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/no-ranji-trophy-in-2020-21-but-bcci-to-hold-domestic-50-over-competitions-for-men-women-u-19-boys-1249623 |title=No Ranji Trophy in 2020–21, but BCCI to hold domestic 50-over games for men, women, and U-19 boys |work=ESPNcricinfo |access-date=30 January 2021}} the first season since the tournament's inception that it was not held.{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/sport/cricket/bcci-to-hold-hazare-trophy-as-per-state-units-wish-no-ranji-trophy-for-first-time-in-87-years/article33701912.ece |title=No Ranji Trophy for first time in 87 years |work=The Hindu |date=30 January 2021 |access-date=30 January 2021|last1=Karhadkar |first1=Amol }}{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=30 January 2021|title=No Ranji Trophy For First Time in 87 Years, BCCI Opts For Vijay Hazare Trophy|url=https://www.probatsman.com/no-ranji-trophy-for-first-time-in-87-years-bcci-opts-for-vijay-hazare-trophy|access-date=30 January 2021|website=Pro Batsman}}
Participants
{{Unreferenced section|date=February 2023}}
State and regional teams with first-class status and owned–operated by BCCI members play in the Ranji Trophy. Most associations are regional such as the Mumbai Cricket Association or the Karnataka State Cricket Association, while Railways and Services are pan-Indian.
All 28 states of India are represented, as are four of the eight union territories: Delhi, Chandigarh, Puducherry, and Jammu and Kashmir (which also represents the union territory of Ladakh). In addition, four teams represent regions within states: Mumbai and Vidarbha (both within Maharashtra) and Saurashtra and Baroda (both within Gujarat), though Maharashtra and Gujarat play as separate teams; and there are two pan-Indian teams: Railways, representing Indian Railways, and Services, representing the Indian Armed Forces. The state of Telangana is represented by the Hyderabad cricket team.
=Current teams=
The following 38 teams currently participate in the Ranji Trophy:
=Defunct teams=
The following teams have appeared in the Ranji Trophy, but no longer do so, partly because Indian states have merged and created over the years:
- Central India (1934/35 – 1940/41)
- Central Provinces and Berar (1934/35 – 1949/50)
- Northern India (1934/35 – 1946/47)
- Sind (1934/35 – 1947/48)
- Southern Punjab (1934/35 – 1951/52, 1959/60 – 1967/68)
- Western India (1934/35 – 1945/46)
- Nawanagar (1936/37 – 1947/48)
- North West Frontier Province (1937/38 – 1946/47)
- Holkar (1941/42 – 1954/55)
- Gwalior (1943/44)
- Patiala/Patiala and Eastern Punjab States Union (1948/49, 1953/54 – 1958/59)
- Eastern Punjab (1950/51 – 1959/60)
- Travancore-Cochin (1951/52 – 1956/57)
- Madhya Bharat (1955/56 – 1956/57)
- Northern Punjab (1960/61 – 1967/68)
Stadiums
{{Incomplete list|date=September 2023}}
Format
From the Ranji Trophy's inception until the 2001 season (with the exception of 1948–49 season), the teams were grouped geographically into four or five zones – North, West, East, and South, with Central added in 1952–53. Initial matches were played within the zones on a knock-out basis until 1956–57, and thereafter on a league basis, to determine a winner; then, the five individual zone winners competed in a knock-out tournament, leading to a final which decided the winner of the Ranji Trophy. From the 1970–71 season, the knock-out stage was expanded to the top two teams from each zone, a total of ten qualifying teams. This was expanded again to the top three from each zone in 1992–93, a total of fifteen qualifying teams; between 1996–97 and 1999–2000, the fifteen qualifying teams competed in a secondary group stage, with three groups of five teams, and the top two from each group qualified for a six-team knock-out stage; in all other years until 2001–02, a full fifteen-team knock-out tournament was held.{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}}
The format was changed in the 2002–03 season with the zonal system abandoned and a two-division structure adopted – the Elite Group, containing fifteen teams, and the Plate Group, containing the rest. Each group had two sub-groups which played a round-robin; the top two from each Elite sub-group then contested a four-team knock-out tournament to determine the winner of the Ranji Trophy. The team which finished last in each Elite sub-group was relegated, and both Plate Group finalists were promoted for the following season. For the 2006–07 season, the divisions were re-labelled the Super League and Plate League respectively.
In the 2008–09 season, this format was adjusted to give both Super League and Plate League teams an opportunity to contest the Ranji Trophy. The top two from each Plate sub-group contested semi-finals; the winners of these two matches then joined the top three from each Super League sub-group in an eight-team knock-out tournament. The winner of this knock-out tournament then won the Ranji Trophy. Promotion and relegation between Super League and Plate League continued as before. In the 2010–11 season, Rajasthan won the Ranji Trophy after beginning the season in the Plate League.{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}}
From the 2012–13 season, this format was adjusted slightly. The Super League and Plate League names were abandoned, but the two-tier system remained. The top tier expanded from fifteen teams to eighteen teams, in two sub-groups of nine (known as Group A and Group B, and considered equal in status); and the second tier was reduced to nine teams in a single group (known as Group C). The top three teams from Groups A and B and the top two from Group C contest the knockout phase. The lowest placed team in each of Group A and Group B is relegated to Group C, and the top two from Group C are promoted to the top tier.
For the 2017–18 season, the two-tier system was abandoned to have 4 groups of seven teams each and two quarter-finalists from each group.
From the 2018–19 season, the teams contested in three-tiers. Five teams will qualify for the quarter-finals from the top tier (known as Elite Group A and Group B). Two teams will qualify from the second-tier (Elite Group C) and one team from the lower-tier (Plate Group) for the quarter-finals.{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}}
Round-robin matches are four days in length; knockout matches are played for five days. Throughout its history, if there is no outright result in a Ranji Trophy knock-out match, the team leading after the first innings is the winner.
Prior to the 2016–17 season, matches were played at the home ground of one of the two teams taking part. For the 2016–17 edition, the BCCI decided that all games would be staged at a neutral venues.{{cite news|title=Ranji Trophy to be held at neutral venues, confirms BCCI|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/top-stories/Ranji-Trophy-to-be-held-at-neutral-venues-confirms-BCCI/articleshow/52901161.cms|website=The Times of India|date=24 June 2016 |access-date=2 January 2017}}
=Points distribution system =
Points in the league stages of both divisions are currently awarded as follows:
| class="wikitable" | |
| Scenario | Points |
|---|---|
| Win outright | 6 |
| Bonus point for inning or 10 wicket win | 1 |
| First innings lead in a drawn match | 3 |
| No result | 1 |
| Tie in first inning's score in a drawn match | 1 |
| Loss on the first innings
|1 | |
| Lost outright | 0 |
| Tie on both innings
|3 |
Tournament records
{{main|List of Ranji Trophy records}}
| class="wikitable" | ||||
| colspan="5" | Individual match records | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highest individual innings | 443* | B. B. Nimbalkar | Maharashtra v Kathiawar | 1948–49[http://cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/18/18737.html Match scorecard]. CricketArchive (1948-12-18). Retrieved on 2013-12-06. |
| Best innings bowling | 10/20 | Premangsu Chatterjee | Bengal v Assam | 1956–57[http://cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/22/22337.html Match scorecard]. CricketArchive (1957-01-29). Retrieved on 2013-12-06. |
| Best match bowling | 16/99 | Anil Kumble | Karnataka v Kerala | 1994–95[http://cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/60/60019.html Match scorecard]. CricketArchive (1995-01-17). Retrieved on 2013-12-06. |
| class="wikitable" | ||||
| colspan="5" | Individual season recordsFrom Indian Cricket 2004, published by The Hindu, 2004 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Most runs in a season | 1,415 | V. V. S. Laxman | Hyderabad | 1999–2000 |
| Most centuries in a season | 7 | Wasim Jaffer | Mumbai | 1999–2000 |
| Most wickets in a season | 68 | Ashutosh Aman | Bihar | 2018–19 |
† Some sources credit Goel with 636 or 640 wickets instead – see Rajinder Goel article for details.
Winners
The following teams have won the tournament:
=Finals appearances by team=
Mumbai/Bombay have played in 48 finals and have won total 42 Ranji Trophy championships, the most by any team.
| class="sortable wikitable" style="text-align:center;" | ||||
| Team | Winner | {{nobr| Runner-up}} | Win % | Last win |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mumbai / Bombay | 42 | 6 | 87.5 | 2024 |
| Karnataka / Mysore | 8 | 6 | 57.1 | 2015 |
| Delhi | 7 | 8 | 46.7 | 2008 |
| Madhya Pradesh / Holkar | 5 | 7 | 41.7 | 2022 |
| Baroda | 5 | 4 | 55.6 | 2001 |
| Saurashtra / Western India / Nawanagar | 4 | 4 | 50 | 2023 |
| Vidarbha | 3 | 1 | 75 | 2025 |
| Bengal | 2 | 13 | 13.33 | 1990 |
| Tamil Nadu / Madras | 2 | 10 | 16.7 | 1988 |
| Rajasthan / Rajputana | 2 | 8 | 20.0 | 2012 |
| Hyderabad | 2 | 3 | 40.0 | 1987 |
| Maharashtra | 2 | 3 | 40.0 | 1941 |
| Railways | 2 | 2 | 50.0 | 2005 |
| Uttar Pradesh / United Provinces | 1 | 5 | 16.7 | 2006 |
| Punjab / Southern Punjab | 1 | 3 | 25 | 1993 |
| Haryana | 1 | 1 | 50.0 | 1991 |
| Gujarat | 1 | 1 | 50.0 | 2017 |
| Services | 0 | 2 | 0.0 | |
| Bihar | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | |
| Northern India | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | |
| Kerala | 0 | 1 | 0.0 |
Broadcasting
Sports18 TV channel and JioCinema has exclusive rights to broadcast the trophy live on television and online respectively.{{Cite web |title=Viacom18 bags BCCI media rights.... |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/news/viacom18-bags-bcci-media-rights/articleshow/103262571.cms |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230901070523/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/news/viacom18-bags-bcci-media-rights/articleshow/103262571.cms |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 September 2023 |website=www.timesofindia.com |access-date=22 April 2024 }} BCCI's website runs match highlights. Star Sports and Disney+ Hotstar broadcast the tournament until 2022.{{Cite web |date=12 December 2012 |title=Ranji Trophy 2022/23, where to watch live: TV channels, match timings and live streaming |url=https://www.wisden.com/cricket-news/ranji-trophy-2022-23-watch-live-tv-channels-match-timings-live-streaming |url-status= |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=6 April 2025 |website=Wisden}}{{Cite web |title=The Board of Control for Cricket in India |url=https://www.bcci.tv/videos/highlights&ved=2ahUKEwiArfrA28L8AhU9rlYBHRapD_8QFnoECDYQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3PTEp4vUgl64BIcI8PGvrZ |website=bcci.tv}}
Salary
| class="wikitable"
|+ Salary Per Match (4 days combined){{Cite web |date=2024-03-24 |title=Ranji Trophy players to get a fee hike as BCCI looks to improve remuneration |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/after-incentive-for-tests-bcci-working-out-fee-hike-for-ranji-players-9231030/ |access-date=2024-09-20 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}} | ||
| Category | Matches played | Salary Per match |
|---|---|---|
| Seniors | 40 or more | ₹2.4 lakh |
| Mid Seniors | 20-39 | ₹2 lakh |
| Juniors | Under 20 | ₹1.6 lakh |
In popular culture
- In Iqbal, a 2005 film, the protagonist Iqbal Saeed Khan appears at the trials for the Hyderabad cricket team. He does not make it, but he is eventually picked by the Andhra cricket team.
- The tournament was featured in Jersey, a 2019 Telugu film, in which the protagonist Arjun represents the Hyderabad cricket team in the Ranji Trophy in the 1980s and 1990s.{{Cite news |title=Nani-starrer 'Jersey', garners praise from cricket buffs |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/gowtam-tinnanuris-jersey-starring-nani-and-shraddha-srinath-has-been-garnering-praise-from-film-and-cricket-buffs/article26910841.ece |website=The Hindu|date=22 April 2019 |last1=Dundoo |first1=Sangeetha Devi }}
Ranji Trophy
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}
{{Notelist}}
See also
Other top domestic cricket tournaments of the BCCI
- Vijay Hazare Trophy (One day format)
- Duleep Trophy
- Deodhar trophy
- Irani Cup (Test format){{Efn|Irani Cup is single match tournament, in which last season's champion team play versus Rest of India cricket team. BCCI organise it on annually in October before India's cricket season starts.{{cite web|url= https://www.espncricinfo.com/team/saurashtra-and-kathiawar-2070/match-schedule-fixtures-and-results|work=ESPNcricinfo |title=Saurashtra (And Kathiawar) Cricket Team 2024 Schedules, Fixtures & Results, Time Table, Matches and upcoming series }}}}
- Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (T20)
Other
- History of cricket
- Sport in India – Overview of sports
- Cricket in India
Notes
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
{{commons category|Ranji Trophy}}
- [http://www.bcci.tv Official website of the BCCI]
- [http://www.cricinfo.com/india/content/story/261615.html The Ranji Trophy – ESPNcricinfo]
- [https://acscricket.com/?page_id=2346 Ranji Trophy Winners]
{{Ranji Trophy}}
{{Cricket in India}}
{{First-class Cricket Domestic Competitions}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:First-class cricket competitions