Ranji Trophy

Ranji Trophy
Official logo of Ranji Trophy
CountriesIndia
AdministratorBCCI
HeadquartersMumbai
FormatFirst-class cricket
First edition1934–35
Latest edition2022–23
Next edition2023–24
Tournament formatRound-robin, then knockout
Number of teams38
Current championSaurashtra (2 titles)
Most successfulMumbai (41 titles)
QualificationIrani Cup
Most runsWasim Jaffer (12,038)
1996–2020
Most wicketsRajinder Goel (640)
1958–1985
TV
Websitewww.bcci.tv
Longest continuous championBombay

The Ranji Trophy (also known as IDFC First Bank Ranji Trophy for sponsorship reasons) is the premier domestic first-class cricket championship played in India and organized annually by the Board of Control for Cricket in India. The teams representing regional and state cricket associations participate. BCCI founded the championship in year 1934, since then it is organised across various grounds and stadiums in India.

The competition currently consists of 38 teams, with all 28 states in India and four of the eight union territories having at least one representation. When the tournament founded it was named "The Cricket Championship of India", in 1935 it was renamed after Ranjitsinhji, who was the first ever Indian, who played international cricket. He played for England from 1896 to 1902.

The Mumbai cricket team is the most successful team of the tournament by winning it record 41 times.

Saurashtra cricket team are the present title holder by winning the 2022–23 edition. It defeated Bengal cricket team in the final at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

History

Ranjitsinhji, after whom the tournament is named

The idea of national level first class championship was proposed by BCCI's founder A.S. De Mello. The competition was launched following BCCI's meeting at Shimla in July 1934, with the first fixtures taking place in 1934–35 .Initially the tournament was named as 'The cricket championship of India', it later was renamed. 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 41 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.

The 2020–21 Ranji Trophy tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the first season since the tournament's inception that it was not held.

Participants

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, Karnataka State Cricket Association while Railways, 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); 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:

Club Home ground/s First season First title Last title Total titles Team captain
Andhra ACA-VDCA International Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam 1953–54 Hanuma Vihari
Arunachal Pradesh 2018–19 Suraj Tayam
Assam ACA Stadium, Guwahati 1948–49 Kunal Saikia
Baroda Moti Bagh Stadium, Vadodara 1937–38 1942–43 2000–01 5 Ambati Rayudu
Bengal Eden Gardens, Kolkata 1935–36 1938–39 1989–90 3 Manoj Tiwary
Bihar Rajgir International Stadium, Nalanda 1936–37 Ashutosh Aman
Chhattisgarh Nava Raipur International Stadium, Naya Raipur 2016–17 Harpreet Singh Bhatia
Chandigarh Sector 16 Stadium, Chandigarh 2019–20 Manan Vohra
Delhi Arun Jaitley Stadium 1934–35 1978–79 2007–08 7 Yash Dhull
Goa Dr. Rajendra Prasad Stadium, Margao 1985–86 Darshan Misal
Gujarat Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad 1935–36 2016–17 2016–17 1 Priyank Panchal
Haryana Chaudhary Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium, Rohtak 1970–71 1990–91 1990–91 1 Harshal Patel
Himachal Pradesh HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala 1985–86 2021–22 2021–22 1 Rishi Dhawan
Hyderabad Hyderabad Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad 1934–35 1937–38 1986–87 2 Tanmay Agarwal
Jammu and Kashmir Sher-e-Kashmir Stadium, Srinagar 1959–60 Shubham Pundir
Jharkhand JSCA International Stadium Complex, Ranchi 2004–05 Virat Singh
Karnataka / Mysore M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore 1934–35 1973–74 2014–15 8 Mayank Agarwal
Kerala Trivandrum International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram 1957–58 Sanju Samson
Madhya Pradesh / Holkar Holkar Stadium, Indore 1941–42 1945–46 1952–53 5 Aditya Shrivastava
Maharashtra Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune 1934–35 1939–40 1940–41 2 Ankit Bawne
Manipur 2018–19 Langlonyamba Keishangbam
Meghalaya Meghalaya Cricket Association Cricket Ground, Shillong 2018–19 Puneet Bisht
Mizoram 2018–19 Taruwar Kohli
Mumbai / Bombay Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai 1934–35 1934–35 2015–16 41 Ajinkya Rahane
Nagaland Nagaland Cricket Association Stadium, Sovima 2018–19 Rongsen Jonathan
Odisha / Orissa Barabati Stadium, Cuttack 1949–50 Subhranshu Senapati
Pondicherry CAP Siechem Ground, Puducherry 2018–19 Damodaren Rohit
Punjab Inderjit Singh Bindra Stadium, Mohali 1968–69 1992–93 1992–93 1 Mandeep Singh
Railways Karnail Singh Stadium, New Delhi 1958–59 2001–02 2004–05 2 Upendra Yadav
Rajasthan / Rajputana Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur 1935–36 2010–11 2011–12 2 Ashok Menaria
Saurashtra Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot 1936–37 2019–20 2022–23 2 Jaydev Unadkat
Sikkim Mining Cricket Stadium, Rangpo 2018–19 Ashish Thapa
Services Palam A Stadium, New Delhi 1949–50 Rajat Paliwal
Tamil Nadu / Madras M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai 1934–35 1954–55 1987–88 2 Sai Kishore
Tripura Maharaja Bir Bikram College Stadium, Agartala 1985–86 Wriddhiman Saha
Uttar Pradesh / United Provinces BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow 1934–35 2005–06 2005–06 1 Karan Sharma
Uttarakhand Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Dehradun 2018–19 Jiwanjot Singh
Vidarbha New VCA Stadium, Nagpur 1957–58 2017–18 2018–19 2 Akshay Wadkar

Defunct teams

The following teams have appeared in the Ranji Trophy, but no longer do so:

Stadiums

Stadium City Capacity Home team
Narendra Modi Stadium Ahmedabad 132,000 Gujarat
Eden Gardens Kolkata 66,000 Bengal
Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium Raipur 65,000 Chhattisgarh
Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium Hyderabad 55,000 Hyderabad
Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium Lucknow 50,000 Uttar Pradesh
Greenfield International Stadium Thiruvananthapuram 55,000 Kerala
JSCA International Cricket Stadium Ranchi 50,000 Jharkhand
Barabati Stadium Cuttack 45,000 Odisha
Nalanda International Cricket Stadium Rajgir 45,000 Bihar
Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium Nagpur 45,000 Vidarbha
Arun Jaitley Stadium New Delhi 41,842 Delhi
M. Chinnaswamy Stadium Bangalore 40,000 Karnataka
Dr. Bhupen Hazarika Cricket Stadium Guwahati 40,000 Assam
Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium Pune 37,406 Maharashtra
M. A. Chidambaram Stadium Chennai 33,500 Tamil Nadu
Wankhede Stadium Mumbai 33,108 Mumbai
Holkar Stadium Indore 30,000 Madhya Pradesh
Maharaja Bir Bikram College Stadium Agartala 30,000 Tripura
Sector 16 Stadium Chandigarh 30,000 Chandigarh
Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium Rajkot 28,000 Saurashtra
Inderjit Singh Bindra Stadium Mohali 26,000 Punjab
Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy International Cricket Stadium Visakhapatnam 25,000 Andhra
Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium Dharamshala 25,000 Himachal Pradesh
Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium Dehradun 25,000 Uttarakhand
Sawai Mansingh Stadium Jaipur 23,185 Rajasthan
Moti Bagh Stadium Vadodara 18,000 Baroda
Mining Cricket Stadium Rangpo 17,500 Sikkim

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]

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]

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]

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.

Points distribution system

Points in the league stages of both divisions are currently awarded as follows:

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 inning 1
Lost outright 0
Tie on both innings 3

Tournament records

Team records
Most trophies wins 41 Mumbai 1934–2016
Highest team score 935/5 dec. Hyderabad v Andhra 1993–94
Lowest team score 21 Hyderabad v Rajasthan 2010
Individual match records
Highest individual innings 443* B. B. Nimbalkar Maharashtra v Kathiawar 1948–49
Best innings bowling 10/20 Premangsu Chatterjee Bengal v Assam 1956–57
Best match bowling 16/99 Anil Kumble Karnataka v Kerala 1994–95
Individual season records
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
Individual career records
Most career matches 155 Wasim Jaffer 1996–2020
Most career runs 12,038 Wasim Jaffer 1996–2020
Most career centuries 40 Wasim Jaffer 1996–2020
Highest career batting average 98.35 Vijay Merchant 1934–51
Most career wickets 640 Rajinder Goel 1958–85

Some sources credit Goel with 636 or 640 wickets instead – see Rajinder Goel article for details.

Winners

The following teams have won the tournament:

Season Winner Runner-up
1934–35 Bombay Northern India
1935–36 Bombay Madras
1936–37 Nawanagar Bengal
1937–38 Hyderabad Nawanagar
1938–39 Bengal Southern Punjab
1939–40 Maharashtra United Provinces
1940–41 Maharashtra Madras
1941–42 Bombay Mysore
1942–43 Baroda Hyderabad
1943–44 Western India Bengal
1944–45 Bombay Holkar
1945–46 Holkar Baroda
1946–47 Baroda Holkar
1947–48 Holkar Bombay
1948–49 Bombay Baroda
1949–50 Baroda Holkar
1950–51 Holkar Gujarat
1951–52 Bombay Holkar
1952–53 Holkar Bengal
1953–54 Bombay Holkar
1954–55 Madras Holkar
1955–56 Bombay Bengal
1956–57 Bombay Services
1957–58 Baroda Services
1958–59 Bombay Bengal
1959–60 Bombay Mysore
1960–61 Bombay Rajasthan
1961–62 Bombay Rajasthan
1962–63 Bombay Rajasthan
1963–64 Bombay Rajasthan
1964–65 Bombay Hyderabad
1965–66 Bombay Rajasthan
1966–67 Bombay Rajasthan
1967–68 Bombay Madras
1968–69 Bombay Bengal
1969–70 Bombay Rajasthan
1970–71 Bombay Maharashtra
1971–72 Bombay Bengal
1972–73 Bombay Tamil Nadu
1973–74 Karnataka Rajasthan
1974–75 Bombay Karnataka
1975–76 Bombay Bihar
1976–77 Bombay Delhi
1977–78 Karnataka Uttar Pradesh
1978–79 Delhi Karnataka
1979–80 Delhi Bombay
1980–81 Bombay Delhi
1981–82 Delhi Karnataka
1982–83 Karnataka Bombay
1983–84 Bombay Delhi
1984–85 Bombay Delhi
1985–86 Delhi Haryana
1986–87 Hyderabad Delhi
1987–88 Tamil Nadu Railways
1988–89 Delhi Bengal
1989–90 Bengal Delhi
1990–91 Haryana Bombay
1991–92 Delhi Tamil Nadu
1992–93 Punjab Maharashtra
1993–94 Bombay Bengal
1994–95 Bombay Punjab
1995–96 Karnataka Tamil Nadu
1996–97 Mumbai Delhi
1997–98 Karnataka Uttar Pradesh
1998–99 Karnataka Madhya Pradesh
1999–00 Mumbai Hyderabad
2000–01 Baroda Railways
2001–02 Railways Baroda
2002–03 Mumbai Tamil Nadu
2003–04 Mumbai Tamil Nadu
2004–05 Railways Punjab
2005–06 Uttar Pradesh Bengal
2006–07 Mumbai Bengal
2007–08 Delhi Uttar Pradesh
2008–09 Mumbai Uttar Pradesh
2009–10 Mumbai Karnataka
2010–11 Rajasthan Baroda
2011–12 Rajasthan Tamil Nadu
2012–13 Mumbai Saurashtra
2013–14 Karnataka Maharashtra
2014–15 Karnataka Tamil Nadu
2015–16 Mumbai Saurashtra
2016–17 Gujarat Mumbai
2017–18 Vidarbha Delhi
2018–19 Vidarbha Saurashtra
2019–20 Saurashtra Bengal
2020–21 Not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021–22 Madhya Pradesh Mumbai
2022–23 Saurashtra Bengal

Finals appearances by team

Mumbai/Bombay have played in 46 of the 86 finals till 2016–17 and have won total 41 Ranji Trophy championships, the most by any team.

Team Winner Runner-up Win % Last win
Mumbai / Bombay 41 6 87.2 2016
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 2 3 40 2023
Vidarbha 2 0 100.0 2019
Bengal 2 13 13.33 1990
Tamil Nadu / Madras 2 10 16.7 1988
Rajasthan 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 25.0 1993
Haryana 1 1 50.0 1991
Gujarat 1 1 50.0 2017
Nawanagar 1 1 50 1937
Western India 1 0 100 1944
Services 0 2 00.0
Bihar 0 1 00.0
Northern India 0 1 00.0

Broadcasting

Sports18 TV channel and JioCinema has exclusive rights to broadcast the trophy live on television and online respectively. BCCI's website runs match highlights. Star Sports and Disney+ Hotstar apk broadcast the tournament until 2022.

In popular culture

  • 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.

Explanatory notes

  1. ^ 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 his state.
  2. ^ Each team has used several venues to host matches.

See also

Other top domestic cricket tournaments of the BCCI

Other


This page was last updated at 2023-12-10 11:15 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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