The Ranji Trophy 2025-26 season kicked off on Wednesday, marking the beginning of the 91st edition of India’s premier domestic red-ball tournament. A total of 38 teams are competing this year, with Vidarbha, the defending champions, starting their new campaign against Nagaland. Last season’s runners-up, Kerala, opened their journey with a clash against Maharashtra.
The tournament structure includes 32 teams divided into four Elite Groups of eight teams each, while the remaining six teams ; Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, and Sikkim form the Plate Group.
Ranji Trophy 2025-26: Groups and Squads
Elite Group A: Tamil Nadu, Baroda, Jharkhand, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra, Nagaland
Elite Group B: Saurashtra, Chandigarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Goa
Elite Group C: Gujarat, Haryana, Services, Bengal, Railways, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Assam
Elite Group D: Mumbai, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Hyderabad, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Puducherry
Plate Group: Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar
Ranji Trophy 2025-26: Round 1 Schedule (October 15–18, 2025)
Uttar Pradesh vs Andhra – Green Park Stadium, Kanpur
Tamil Nadu vs Jharkhand – Sri Ramakrishna College of Arts and Science Ground, Coimbatore
Odisha vs Baroda – Barabati Stadium, Cuttack
Nagaland vs Vidarbha – BCCI COE Ground 1, Bengaluru
Kerala vs Maharashtra – Sports Hub International Cricket Stadium, Trivandrum
Goa vs Chandigarh – Goa Cricket Association Academy, Porvorim
Madhya Pradesh vs Punjab – Emerald Heights International School Ground, Indore
Saurashtra vs Karnataka – Niranjan Shah Stadium, Rajkot
Services vs Tripura – Air Force Complex Ground, Palam, New Delhi
Gujarat vs Assam – Narendra Modi Stadium Ground A, Motera, Ahmedabad
Bengal vs Uttarakhand – Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Railways vs Haryana – C.K. Pithawala Ground, Surat
Puducherry vs Himachal Pradesh – Siechem Stadium, Puducherry
Jammu & Kashmir vs Mumbai – Sher-e-Kashmir Cricket Stadium, Srinagar
Rajasthan vs Chhattisgarh – Madan Paliwal Miraj Sports Centre, Rajsamand
Hyderabad vs Delhi – NexGen Cricket Ground, Hyderabad
Arunachal Pradesh vs Bihar – Moin-ul-Haq Stadium, Patna
Sikkim vs Manipur – SICA Ground, Rangpo
Meghalaya vs Mizoram – Meghalaya Cricket Association Ground, Shillong
Ranji Trophy 2025-26: Live Streaming Information
For cricket fans wondering how to watch the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 Round 1 matches live in India — a select number of games will be streamed live on the JioHotstar app and website. Additionally, viewers can catch the live telecast of chosen fixtures on the Star Sports Khel TV channel across India.