Ranji Trophy Teams: All Elite and Plate Groups

The Ranji Trophy 2026–27 field contains 38 teams, with 32 in Elite and six in Plate. The Elite teams are divided into four groups of eight, while Plate operates as a single six-team group with its own final.

The team list reflects India's cricket associations rather than a simple one-state-one-team map. Mumbai, Maharashtra and Vidarbha compete separately, as do Gujarat, Baroda and Saurashtra. Railways and Services add an institutional element to a championship otherwise closely associated with regional cricket identities.

Complete Ranji Trophy Team List

The groups follow the BCCI's published structure for 2026–27. Group letters can change between seasons. A team appearing in Group A in an older points table should not automatically be placed there in a new campaign.

Puducherry also appears as Pondicherry in some schedule material. In this competition context, the two spellings refer to the same participating side rather than separate entries.

Elite Group A

Jammu & Kashmir enter as defending champions, while Vidarbha won the preceding 2024–25 title. Madhya Pradesh, Baroda and Uttar Pradesh also bring championship histories to a group completed by Puducherry, Goa and Bihar.

The first round pairs J&K with Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha with Puducherry, Goa with Baroda and Bihar with Uttar Pradesh. Those fixtures begin the group race without carrying over any points from the previous season.

Two qualification places mean a side must assess its position against all seven opponents. Beating a prominent team can be valuable, but dropping points elsewhere can still undo that advantage. The seven-match programme rewards the complete campaign rather than one headline performance.

Elite Group B

Karnataka, the previous season's runners-up, are grouped with Andhra, Saurashtra, Chhattisgarh, Hyderabad, Tripura, Punjab and Assam. Karnataka open against Andhra, while Saurashtra begin against Chhattisgarh.

For readers following player records, the group also illustrates the difference between a team's history and its current form. Karnataka's past titles and Saurashtra's recent championship successes provide background, but neither changes the new table before matches are played.

Selection and availability can alter the strength of individual XIs during a long season. A team name alone should not be used to assume that every familiar international player will appear in every fixture.

Elite Group C

Bengal, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Services, Gujarat, Kerala, Delhi and Odisha form Group C. The opening round includes Bengal–Delhi and Jharkhand–Kerala, alongside Services–Maharashtra and Gujarat–Odisha.

Services are particularly useful when explaining the competition's structure. They participate as an institutional team, so a map listing only Indian states would not describe the entire field accurately.

The same group can produce very different match demands across venues. A batting total gains meaning from the surface and opposition response; it should not be compared mechanically with another match's score merely because both fixtures belong to the same round.

Elite Group D

Uttarakhand, Mumbai, Haryana, Railways, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh make up Group D. Mumbai open against Chandigarh at Wankhede Stadium, while Rajasthan face Tamil Nadu, Railways meet Uttarakhand and Haryana take on Himachal Pradesh.

Mumbai's long championship history makes them a familiar starting point for new followers. However, the group contains seven other teams competing for the same two places. Qualification comes through current results, not the number of trophies in an association's cabinet.

Railways, like Services in Group C, represent an institutional unit. Their presence is another reason to describe the tournament as an inter-association championship rather than a competition exclusively between state governments' teams.

Plate Teams and Their Route

Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh contest Plate. Each plays the other five once, after which the leading two reach the Plate final.

Plate matches have first-class status. Their runs and wickets therefore form part of the players' first-class careers and can appear in overall Ranji records where the statistical category includes the division.

The competitive context should still be clear. An Elite-only season table excludes Plate performances; an all-Ranji table may include them. This distinction is especially important when a huge individual score is compared with performances against different levels of opposition.

Why Mumbai and Maharashtra Are Separate

The tournament follows the established membership and jurisdiction of cricket associations. Political geography and cricket administration do not align perfectly, which is why a single modern state can contain more than one participating association.

Historical names add another layer. Bombay is the earlier name associated with Mumbai's records, Madras appears in Tamil Nadu's history, and Mysore appears in Karnataka's. A historical result should preserve enough context to make the identity clear without treating every older regional name as automatically interchangeable with a present-day side.

How Teams Qualify for the Knockouts

Each Elite team has seven league matches. The top two in each group enter an eight-team quarter-final field, followed by semi-finals and the championship final.

Plate's top two play a separate final. Its champion should be labelled the Plate winner rather than placed beside the Elite champion as though both won the same title match. Promotion connects the divisions across seasons, while their immediate knockout routes remain different.

Squads Are Smaller Than Association Player Pools

The thirty-eight-team field identifies participating associations, not every player eligible to represent them. Each association selects a squad, then a playing eleven for an individual fixture. A name appearing in a trial camp or extended registration list should not automatically be described as a confirmed Ranji debutant.