India conducts a domestic first-class cricket tournament for all the teams representing their respective regions and states, which goes by the name Ranji Trophy. The significance of naming the tournament is that is it in honor of the first Indian Cricketer, Ranjitsinhji. He was the first one to play international cricket. This year marks the 87th season of the Ranji Trophy since its inaugural season.
Currently, in Ranji Trophy there are 38 teams, out of which 28 teams represent their respective states and 4 out of 8 Union Territories, have one representation. The tournament is administered by BCCI and the first edition was in the year 1934-35. The format of the game is round-robin and then Knockout. So let’s take a look at the upcoming edition of the Ranji Trophy, 2022.
Ranji Trophy 2022 Start Date
The official has announced that this season of the Ranji Trophy will take place in two split phases. The first phase is scheduled to begin on 10th February 2022. This will be the league stage that will commence by 15th March 2022. Followed by the Knockout stage which will be played from 30th May 2022 to 26th June 2022.
Teams and Groups Ranji Trophy 2022
Because of the decision of the split phases of the tournament, there is a split in the groups also. Before there were 8 Elite groups, now there are only 5 Elite Groups and a Plate Group. So let’s take a look at the teams and the groups each one is going to perform in.
| Groups | Teams |
| Group A (Rajkot) | Gujarat Kerala Madhya Pradesh Meghalaya |
|---|---|
| Group B (Cuttack) | Bengal Baroda Hyderabad Chandigarh |
| Group C (Chennai) | Jammu & Kashmir Karnataka Puducherry Railways |
| Group D (Ahmedabad) | Goa Mumbai Odisha Saurashtra |
| Plate Group(Kolkata) | Arunachal Pradesh Bihar Manipur Mizoram Nagaland Sikkim |
Ranji Trophy 2022 Schedule
The entire schedule of the Ranji Trophy is not yet announced by the officials yet. However, there is some information regarding the same which has been confirmed. It is known to us that every team is going to perform three league matches. As we also mentioned that the tournament is going to take place according to phases. The reason for conducting it this way is to avoid clashing with IPL 2022.
First leg: February 10, 2022, to March 15, 2022 (34 days, 57 matches)
Second leg: May 30, 2022, to June 26, 2022 (28 days, 7 matches)
Check: IPL 2022 Start Date, Schedule, Team List, Venue, And Latest News
What are the Venues?
Ranji Trophy is going to be held in different cities and locations. So, let’s take a look at the venues for this season.
Ahmedabad
Narendra Modi Stadium, Narendra Modi Stadium-2, Gujarat College Ground
Kolkata
Eden Gardens, Bengal Cricket Academy (Kalyani), Videocon Academy Ground, Jadavpur University Campus 2nd ground
Rajkot
SCA Stadium, SCA Stadium Khanderi B Ground, Madhavrao Scindia Ground
Haryana
Ch. Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium (Rohtak), Gurugram Cricket Ground
Delhi
Arun Jaitely Stadium, Roshanara Club Ground
Guwahati
Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Judges Field, NFRSA Ground
Cuttack
Barabati, KIIT (Bhubaneshwar), Vikas Cricket Ground (Bhubaneshwar), DRIEMS Ground
Trivandrum
St Xaviers’ KCA Cricket Ground, Greenfield Stadium, KCA Stadium (Mangalapuram)
Chennai
MA Chidambaram Stadium, IIT Chemplast, IC-Gurunanak College Ground