Zal R. Irani was a long-serving President and a treasurer of the Board of Control for Cricket in India from 1928 till 1970. When the Ranji Trophy entered its 25th year, a special match held between the reigning champions and a Rest of India side. This was a one-off fixture. However, the success of this single match led to it being an annual fixture and was named the Irani Cup in honor of the esteemed administrator.
Between 1965 to 2013 the Irani Cup match was scheduled as a mark of announcing the commencement of the new domestic season. Since then, the Irani Cup has been played after the Ranji Trophy final and now marks the ends of the domestic Indian season.
An All India Senior Selection Committee decides the Rest of India side. This 18-man squad is announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India and are chosen based on their performance in Ranji Trophy of that season. These are the players who are not a part of the champion side of the Ranji Trophy that season but have performed exceptionally well throughout the tournament.
The Irani Cup will almost always have a result. Unless there is a distinct finish to the game, a match that would usually be drawn will be decided based on the first innings lead. Thus, the team who has a lead in the first innings is declared the champion. It was only in 1965 when the Irani Cup was shared by the two finalists as the first innings was incomplete.
As of 2025, Rest of India is the most successful side, having won 30 titles, followed by Mumbai with 15 titles. Wasim Jaffer’s tally of 1294 runs is the highest in the Irani Cup. The leading wicket-taker of the annual one-off fixture is Padmakar Shivalkar with 51 wickets.
