Introduction
Thirty-two teams, four groups and just seven matches each: Elite cricket leaves almost no room for a bad week.
This guide lays out the Ranji Trophy Elite 2026-27 match schedule round by round, with the groups, venues and rules that shape the table. Every Elite team plays seven league games before the top eight move on.
Dates, venues and qualification rules are all below. Use it as a reference while the season unfolds.
Elite Format Explained
Each Elite group holds eight teams, and each team plays the other seven once. That gives 28 matches per group and 112 across the four groups.
The league runs in two phases. Phase 1 covers October 11 to November 5, 2026, and Phase 2 covers January 17 to February 4, 2027.
Rounds last four days. Start time is listed as 9:30 AM local time, or 04:00 GMT.
The ranking of teams on the table follows a fixed order of tie-breakers : points first, then bonus points, then wins, then head-to-head results where they apply, and finally the quotient.
Elite Groups A to D
BCCI placed teams using the 2025-26 standings. The champions went to Group A and the runners-up to Group B.
| Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
| Jammu & Kashmir | Karnataka | Bengal | Uttarakhand |
| Madhya Pradesh | Andhra | Jharkhand | Mumbai |
| Vidarbha | Saurashtra | Maharashtra | Haryana |
| Baroda | Chhattisgarh | Services | Railways |
| Uttar Pradesh | Hyderabad | Gujarat | Rajasthan |
| Puducherry | Tripura | Kerala | Tamil Nadu |
| Goa | Punjab | Delhi | Himachal Pradesh |
| Bihar | Assam | Odisha | Chandigarh |
Bihar are the newcomers in Group A. They played in Plate last season, so the step up is real.
Round-by-Round Venue Guide
Published listings name venues for most, though not all, fixtures. The table below gathers what is available for the Ranji Trophy Elite 2026-27 match schedule.
| Round | Dates | Venues named in listings |
| 1 | October 11 to 14 | A: Panaji, Rajgir, Srinagar, Nagpur. B: Secunderabad, Vijayawada, New Chandigarh, Rajkot. C: Kalyani, Jamshedpur |
| 2 | October 18 to 21 | A: Vadodara. B: Alur, New Chandigarh |
| 3 | October 26 to 29 | B: Rajkot, Raipur. C: Ranchi. D: Mumbai, Dehradun |
| 4 | November 2 to 5 | B: Agartala. C: Bhubaneswar. D: Dehradun |
| 5 | January 17 to 20 | A: Indore, Porvorim |
| 6 | January 24 to 27 | A: Puducherry, Rajgir. B: New Chandigarh, Guwahati, Agartala. C: Jamshedpur, Delhi, Pune. D: Jaipur |
| 7 | February 1 to 4 | A: Vadodara, Puducherry, Nagpur, Jammu. B: Rajkot, Shimoga, Visakhapatnam, Raipur. C: Eden Gardens. D: Rohtak, Dehradun, Mumbai, Dharamsala |
Gaps in this table do not mean a match is missing. They mean the ground had not been named in the listings checked.
Group A Fixture Notes
Group A holds the defending champions, and its opening round is already set. Goa meet Baroda at Panaji, and Bihar face Uttar Pradesh at Rajgir.
Jammu & Kashmir take on Madhya Pradesh in round one. Nagpur is also listed as a round-one venue, so a Vidarbha home opener looks likely.
Here is how Jammu & Kashmir line up through the season:
- Madhya Pradesh (October 11 to 14)
- Vidarbha (October 18 to 21)
- Baroda (October 26 to 29)
- Puducherry (November 2 to 5)
- Bihar (January 17 to 20)
- Uttar Pradesh (January 24 to 27)
- Goa (February 1 to 4)
Two heavyweights, Vidarbha and Baroda, arrive early in that run. A strong start there could settle the group long before February.
Group B and Group D Notes
Group B opens at Secunderabad, Vijayawada, New Chandigarh and Rajkot. Karnataka are listed at Vijayawada, which hints at an early trip for last season’s runners-up.
Hyderabad have already made news. Mohammed Siraj will lead them in their first two matches, after he finishes international duty against the West Indies in September and October.
Group D carries plenty of storylines too. Siddhesh Lad has replaced Shardul Thakur as Mumbai captain, and Mumbai is listed as a Group D venue in rounds three and seven.
Karnataka have a new face on the sidelines as well, since Vinay Kumar was appointed head coach. Expect a few tactical changes there.
Group C Fixture Notes
Group C opens with Bengal against Delhi at Kalyani. Jamshedpur hosts another round-one match, and Gujarat meet Odisha.
Delhi’s season in order:
- Bengal at Kalyani (October 11 to 14)
- Gujarat (October 18 to 21)
- Jharkhand at Ranchi (October 26 to 29)
- Services (November 2 to 5)
- Odisha (January 17 to 20)
- Kerala at Thiruvananthapuram (January 24 to 27)
- Maharashtra (February 1 to 4)
That run ends with Maharashtra, and Eden Gardens is listed as a Group C venue in the final round. A late game at a ground like that could carry real weight for the table.
Reading the order, I would call round three at Ranchi the trickiest trip for Delhi. Travel plus a four-day game against a host side is never easy.
How Teams Reach the Quarter-Finals
Only the top two teams from each group qualify. Four groups send eight teams into the knockouts.
The quarter-final pairings are fixed in advance:
- QF 1: Group A winner against Group C runner-up
- QF 2: Group B winner against Group D runner-up
- QF 3: Group C winner against Group A runner-up
- QF 4: Group D winner against Group B runner-up
Winners of QF 1 and QF 4 meet in the first semi-final. Winners of QF 2 and QF 3 meet in the second.
The knockout window runs from February 9 to March 3, 2027. The first quarter-final is listed for February 9 to 13.
Promotion and Relegation Rules
BCCI ranks all 32 Elite teams on a combined list at the end of the season. The side at the bottom drops to Plate for 2027-28.
The Plate winner moves up in its place and joins Elite Group A. That keeps the Elite pool at 32 teams every year.
Nagaland went through this exact switch before this season. They were in Elite Group A last year and now play in Plate.
Ranji Trophy 2026-27 Opening Matches and Schedule
Ranji Trophy Plate 2026-27 Full Schedule
Key Takeaways
- Elite teams: 32, split into four groups of eight
- League matches per team: seven, one against each group rival
- Phase 1: October 11 to November 5, 2026
- Phase 2: January 17 to February 4, 2027
- Qualification: top two from each group reach the quarter-finals
- Relegation: the bottom Elite team on the combined list moves to Plate
FAQs
How many teams play in the Ranji Trophy Elite 2026-27?
Thirty-two teams play in Elite, divided into four groups of eight.
When does the Elite league stage end?
The league stage ends on February 4, 2027, after the seventh round.
Who qualifies for the Elite quarter-finals?
The top two teams in each of the four groups move on.
Which tie-breakers decide the Elite table?
Points come first, followed by bonus points, wins, head-to-head results and the quotient.
Who is relegated from Elite after the season?
The team at the bottom of the combined Elite list drops to Plate for 2027-28.
Conclusion
The Ranji Trophy Elite 2026-27 match schedule gives each team seven chances across two phases, and only eight sides reach the quarter-finals. Jammu & Kashmir carry the champion’s tag into Group A, yet Karnataka, Mumbai and Bengal all begin with strong claims. Check the listings for new venues as rounds approach, because a few grounds are still unnamed.
