Ranji Trophy Player of the Tournament Winners

Auqib Nabi Dar won the Ranji Trophy Player of the Tournament award in 2025–26 as Jammu & Kashmir claimed their first title. His recognition followed Harsh Dubey's award for Vidarbha in 2024–25 and Tanush Kotian's for Mumbai in 2023–24.

The award recognises a season's contribution. It is separate from Player of the Match in the final and from awards presented later at the BCCI's annual ceremony.

Confirmed Recent Winners

This is a verified recent list, rather than an invented winner-by-winner archive reaching back to the competition's first season.

Different Routes to the Same Award

Nabi's recognition came through a season-defining contribution with the ball. Dubey combined his record 69 wickets with useful lower-order batting, while Kotian contributed 502 runs and 29 wickets in Mumbai's championship campaign.

Those examples show why the award cannot simply be assigned to the highest run-scorer. Taking wickets, making difficult runs and influencing the matches that decide a team's progress can all shape the final choice.

Avoid Confusing the Final with the Season

A brilliant final performance may earn a match award even when another player has contributed more across the entire tournament. The presentation can therefore contain two different individual winners.

The Lala Amarnath Award for the best Ranji all-rounder is another separate honour. A player may receive both, but one award's announcement does not automatically prove he won the other.

Arpit Vasavada Extends the Recent List

Vasavada was the Player of the Tournament in 2022–23, when Saurashtra won the championship. The competition archive explicitly records the award, making him another confirmed entry alongside the three more recent winners.

His recognition should be separated from Jaydev Unadkat's Player of the Match award in that season's final against Bengal. Two players can receive the different honours without any inconsistency.

A season-award list therefore needs the award label as well as the player's name. A final scorecard alone may identify the match winner's outstanding performer but not the season recipient.

Nabi's Award Followed J&K's First Championship

Nabi led the completed 2025–26 Elite wicket table with sixty. His 5/54 in Karnataka's first innings of the final helped confirm the large lead that ultimately delivered J&K's title.

Pundir, who made 121 in J&K's first innings, received the final's match award. Nabi's season recognition and Pundir's final recognition describe different contributions across different timescales.

The distinction is useful for readers who encounter both names in reports from the presentation. Neither should be silently substituted for the other in an awards table.

Dubey Combined Wickets With Runs

Dubey's 69 wickets for Vidarbha in 2024–25 established the single-season Ranji benchmark. He also contributed 476 runs, making his campaign relevant with bat as well as ball.

The record wicket total was completed during the final against Kerala. That linked the individual milestone to the team's championship match, rather than leaving it as an isolated league-stage achievement.

His Player of the Tournament award should nevertheless be recorded from the award announcement, not inferred solely from the fact that he took the most wickets. An award and a statistics leaderboard are separate records.

Kotian's All-Round Contribution

Kotian's 502 runs and 29 wickets helped Mumbai during their 2023–24 title campaign. His lower-order batting included a century in the quarter-final partnership with Tushar Deshpande against Baroda.

That stand reached 232 for the last wicket, one short of the recognised Ranji record. It provides a specific example of the batting contribution behind an award that might otherwise be described only through season totals.

His wickets supplied another part of the campaign. An all-round award case can involve repeated contributions in both disciplines rather than leading either aggregate table outright.

Why the Leading Run-Scorer Is Not Automatically the Winner

A season's highest run total answers who accumulated the most runs. Player of the Tournament is an officially awarded honour that can recognise bowling, all-round work and contributions to decisive matches.

The two may coincide, but one cannot be used as proof of the other. A website should not fill a missing award entry by copying the leading batter or bowler from the statistics page.

Similarly, the champion's captain is not automatically the recipient. Leadership, team success and the individual award have related but distinct records.

Annual BCCI Awards Need Their Own Labels

The Lala Amarnath Award and other honours presented at an annual ceremony may refer to specific categories or earlier seasons. Their announcement date can also fall well after the cricket was played.

A list should therefore retain the season recognised, rather than assuming the ceremony year is the tournament season. This avoids shifting an award into the wrong campaign.

If a player wins more than one honour, each can be listed separately with its proper title. Combining them into a single generic award makes the historical record harder to verify.

What Makes an Awards Archive Reliable?

Use the official competition record or a contemporary presentation report, preserve the exact award category and identify the team and season. Where older records cannot be confirmed, leave the gap visible rather than inventing a recipient.

The recent list provides a useful, verified sequence from Vasavada through Kotian, Dubey and Nabi. Their different contributions show the range of performances recognised across successful Ranji campaigns while keeping the award distinct from the final's match honour.

The Team in the Award Table Is Season-Specific

Kotian's award belongs to Mumbai's 2023–24 campaign, Dubey's to Vidarbha's 2024–25 campaign and Nabi's to J&K's 2025–26 campaign. A later transfer would not change the team associated with an earlier award. The season and association are part of the historical entry, just as they are for an individual innings record.