Ranji Trophy 2026-27 all you need to know: Round 1 fixtures, groups, and key India players in action

Ranji Trophy: The 2026-27 season starts on Sunday and Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul and Mohammed Shami will be among the prominent players in action.

The 2026-27 Ranji Trophy season will get underway on Sunday, October 11, with 38 teams competing in India’s premier domestic First-Class cricket tournament. The opening round will feature 19 matches across the country as the race for the title begins. However, it is possible that only 17 teams eventually take the field as Arunachal Pradesh are at risk of forfeiting their game against Nagaland due to the ongoing legal dispute between two factions of the Arunachal Cricket Association (ACA).

KL Rahul will represent Karnataka, and the side will take on Andhra. (PTI)

Several Indian stars will be in action, with Mohammed Siraj, KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan and Mohammed Shami set to play for their state teams. The first-round fixtures are of utmost importance for these players as they look to get into the groove ahead of the two-Test series in New Zealand, where Rahul, Siraj and Jaiswal are expected to play key roles.

Defending champions Jammu & Kashmir will start their campaign against Madhya Pradesh, looking to bounce back from their recent defeat in the Irani Cup in Srinagar. The opening fixture comes just a week after that setback, giving the champions an early opportunity to regain momentum.

Delhi will begin their campaign against Bengal, and it will be an exciting contest as Delhi made several changes to their coaching staff, bringing in Vijay Dahiya as head coach and Rajkumar Sharma, the childhood coach of Virat Kohli, as the mentor. On the other hand, Mumbai will take on Chandigarh at the Wankhede Stadium, and it would be interesting to see how Jaiswal goes about his business, considering that all the Mumbai build-up has been about him practicing wicketkeeping at the training to find a spot in the India white-ball teams.

A total of 138 matches are scheduled across the tournament, making it another extensive test of consistency and squad depth for the participating teams. The Ranji Trophy calendar will be split into two phases, with the T20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and one-day Vijay Hazare Trophy tournaments scheduled between them.

Here are all the Groups for the Ranji Trophy 2026-27 season:

Group A: Bihar, Baroda, Goa, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Pondicherry, Uttar Pradesh and Vidarbha.

Group B: Karnataka, Andhra, Saurashtra, Chhattisgarh, Hyderabad, Tripura, Punjab, and Assam.

Group C: Bengal, Delhi, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Kerala, Maharashtra, Services and Odisha.

Group D: Mumbai, Rajasthan, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Railways.

Plate Group: Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim, Meghalaya, and Arunachal Pradesh.

Key India players participating in the first round matches

KL Rahul (Karnataka), Mohammed Siraj (Hyderabad), Mohammed Shami, Akash Deep and Mukesh Kumar (Bengal), Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sarfaraz Khan (Mumbai).

Here are all the first-round matches scheduled to begin on October 11:

Sikkim vs Meghalaya – Rangpo (Plate)

Andhra vs Karnataka – Mulapadu

Arunachal Pradesh vs Nagaland – Ahmedabad (Plate)

Bengal vs Delhi – Kalyani

Bihar vs Uttar Pradesh – Rajgir

Goa vs Baroda – Panaji

Gujarat vs Odisha – Ahmedabad

Haryana vs Himachal Pradesh – Rohtak

Hyderabad vs Tripura – Hyderabad

Jammu and Kashmir vs Madhya Pradesh – Srinagar

Jharkhand vs Kerala – Jamshedpur

Mizoram vs Manipur – Nadiad (Plate)

Mumbai vs Chandigarh – Mumbai

Punjab vs Assam – Mullanpur

Railways vs Uttarakhand – CCI, Mumbai

Rajasthan vs Tamil Nadu – Jaipur

Saurashtra vs Chhattisgarh – Rajkot

Services vs Maharashtra – New Delhi

Vidarbha vs Pondicherry – Nagpur