The Ranji Trophy is the most prestigious first-class cricket competition of India. It began in 1934 as “The Cricket Championship of India.” It was later renamed as the Ranji Trophy as an honor to Colonel Ranjitsinhji, the first ever Indian to play international cricket. Ranjitsinhji represented England between 1896 to 1902.
As of 2025, 38 teams are involved in a tussle for to win the Ranji Trophy. Each of these teams is recognized by the Board of Control for Cricket in India. Each team represents a state, region, union territory, or services of India. Teams from the latter category are Services and Railways. Vidarbha, Baroda, Saurashtra, are regional teams that are within a state.
The Ranji Trophy has had several changes in its format in a history that spans over nine decades. This article shall only details the format that is currently followed (as of 2025).
The current format follows a promotion-relegation system. The 38 teams are divided into two broad categories. These are the Elite group and the Plate group. The Elite group is divided into four groups. Each group has eight teams. The Plate group has six teams. Each team in the Elite group plays the other in a round-robin format. Similarly, the teams in the Plate group also play each other in a round-robin format.
A team is awarded six points for a win. If a team wins by an innings or ten wickets, a team gets an additional bonus points. If a match ends in a draw, each team gets one point. However, three bonus points are alloted to the team who has a lead in the first innings of a drawn match. A team who loses does not get any point and is neither subject to any negative point deduction.
The first two teams from each Elite group contest the quarterfinals. In the Plate group, the top two teams qualify for the Elite group in the subsequent season. The worst performing teams of the Elite groups are relegated to the Plate group in the next season.
As of 2025, Mumbai has won a record 42 Ranji trophy titles. Wasim Jaffer has played a record 155 wickets and has scored 12,038 runs. This includes a record tally of 40 centuries. The most successful bowler in Ranji Trophy is Rajinder Goel with 640 wickets.
