Ranji Trophy 2024-25: Groups And Squads Of Participating Teams

India’s premier domestic cricket competition, the Ranji Trophy, has undergone a significant revamp for the 2024-25 season, adding a fresh layer of excitement with the introduction of a promotion and relegation system. As the 90th edition of the tournament kicks off on October 11, 2024, the new format promises to enhance competition and provide opportunities for teams across all divisions to rise or fall based on their performances.

The revamp is a testament to the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) commitment to maintaining the high standards of the Ranji Trophy while fostering growth and development for emerging teams. The introduction of the promotion and relegation system will make every match more significant, as teams will now not only play for pride and silverware but also to secure their place in the elite division or avoid the drop to the lower division.

Let’s take a closer look at the new format, the groups, and the squads as they gear up for an exciting season of red-ball cricket in India.

Promotion and Relegation: A Game-Changer in the Format

One of the most significant changes in the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy season is the introduction of the promotion and relegation system, designed to encourage competitive cricket at all levels of the tournament. This dynamic system will reward the top-performing teams from the Plate group and challenge underperforming teams in the Elite category.

Promotion: The two finalists from the Plate group will be promoted to the Elite category for the following season (2025-26), providing an opportunity for emerging teams to test themselves against stronger opposition.
Relegation: On the other hand, the two lowest-performing teams from the Elite groups will be relegated to the Plate category for the next season. This adds a layer of pressure on established teams in the Elite category, as poor performances could see them demoted to the lower tier.

This system introduces a level of accountability and incentive for all teams, making every game in the season critical, not just for qualification to the knockouts but also for staying in the top tier of Indian domestic cricket.

Elite Category: Four Competitive Groups Ready for Battle

The Elite category, which comprises the best teams in the country, has been divided into four groups (A, B, C, and D), each featuring a mix of seasoned teams and rising talents. Let’s take a closer look at the makeup of each group:

Group A: Baroda, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Mumbai, Odisha, Services, and Tripura. This group boasts the presence of Mumbai, one of the most successful teams in Ranji Trophy history, alongside Maharashtra and Baroda, both of whom have produced top-tier cricketers over the years.
Group B: Andhra, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Hyderabad, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and Vidarbha. Gujarat and Vidarbha have been consistent performers in recent years, and this group promises a closely fought contest for the top spot.
Group C: Bengal, Bihar, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh. This is arguably the “group of death,” featuring powerhouses like Bengal, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh. Each of these teams has a strong cricketing pedigree and will be looking to dominate the group.
Group D: Assam, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Jharkhand, Railways, Saurashtra, and Tamil Nadu. With Delhi, Saurashtra, and Tamil Nadu in the mix, Group D will be one to watch closely. Saurashtra, the defending champions, will aim to maintain their dominance, while Delhi and Tamil Nadu will look to reclaim past glory.

The teams in each group will play matches with the aim of progressing to the knockout stages, while also keeping an eye on the relegation threat that looms for underperforming sides.

Plate Group: A Platform for Emerging Teams

The Plate group consists of teams that are still developing their cricketing infrastructure and talent pools. The competition here is fierce, as the two finalists will be promoted to the Elite category for the 2025-26 season. The Plate group teams are:

Arunachal Pradesh
Goa
Manipur
Mizoram
Nagaland
Sikkim

For teams like Goa, Mizoram, and Sikkim, the 2024-25 season offers a golden opportunity to break into the Elite division and compete against the more established teams in Indian domestic cricket. The stakes are high, and every match will be a proving ground for players looking to make a mark on the national stage.

Star Players and Squads: Talent Galore

As the squads for the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 season are being announced, several teams have confirmed their line-ups, which include a mix of seasoned campaigners and young talents ready to shine.

Meghalaya: Aryan Borah, Akash Kumar Choudhary, Arpit Bhatewara, Bamanbha Shangpliang, Bijon Dey, Chengkam Sangma, Dippu Sangma, Jaskirat Singh Sachdeva, Kishan Lyngdoh, Ram Gurung, Roshan Warbah, Swarajeet Das

Maharashtra: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Nikhil Naik (wk), Ankeet Bawane, Sachin Dhas, Arshin Kulkarni, Murtaza Trunkwalla, Siddhesh Veer, Mukesh Choudhary, Hitesh Walunj, Pradeep Dadhe, Rajnish Gurbani, Harshal Kate, Prashant Solanki, Satyajeet Bachhav, Mandar Bhandari, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Azim Kazi

Mumbai: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Prithvi Shaw, Ayush Mhatre, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Shreyas Iyer, Siddhessh Lad, Suryansh Shedge, Hardik Tamore (wk), Sidhaant Addhatrao (wk), Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Himanshu Singh, Shardul Thakur, Mohit Avasthi, Mohd. Juned Khan, Royston Dias.

Odisha: Govinda Poddar (c), Shantanu Mishra, Anurag Sarangi, Sandeep Pattanaik, Biplab Samantaray, Kartik Biswal, Swastik Samal, Rajesh Dhupar, Aashirwad Swain (wk), Anil Parida, Suryakant Pradhan, Sunil Kumar Roul, Rajesh Mohanty, Debaprata Pradhan, Tarani Sa, Harshit Rathod, Sumit Sharma

Andhra: Ricky Bhui (c), Shaikh Rasheed (vc), KS Bharat (wk), Hanuma Vihari, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Maheep Kumar, Vamsi Krishna (wk), Abishek Reddy, KV Sasikanth, Ashwin Hebbar, CH Stephen, Satyanarayana Raju, A Lalith Mohan, G Manish, T Vijay, M Hemanth Reddy

Mizoram: Bobby Zothansanga (c), Vikash Kumar, KC Cariappa, Jehu Anderson, Agni Chopra, Mohit Jangra, G Lalbiakvela, Lalhriatrenga, C Lalrinsanga, Joseph Lalthankhuma, Lalhruai Ralte, Rosiamliana Ralte, Moses Ramhlunmawia, Andrew Vanlalhruaia

Hyderabad: Tilak Varma (c), Rahul Singh G (vc), CV Milind, Tanmay Agarwal, Rohit Rayudu, Tanay Thyagarajan, Aniketh Reddy, Nitesh Kannala, Abhirath Reddy, Himateja, Rahul Radesh, Rakshann Readdi, Kartikeya Kak, Saranu Nishant, Dheeraj Goud

Gujarat: Priyank Panchal, Arya Desai, Het Patel, Urvil Patel, Chintan Gaja, Arzan Nagwaswalla, Umang Kumar, Siddharth Desai, Manan Hingrajia, Priyajitsinh Jadeja, Tejas Patel, Jaymeet Patel, Rishi Patel, Rinkesh Vaghela, Vishal Jayswal

The announcement of these star-studded squads only heightens the excitement surrounding the Ranji Trophy season. Many of these players will be looking to stake their claim for spots in the Indian national team, making the tournament a critical platform for their careers.

Madhya Pradesh: Shubham Sharma (c), Yash Dubey, Himanshu Mantri, Shubranshu Senapati, Rajat Patidar, Harpreet Bhatia, Venkatesh Iyer, Harsh Gawali, Kumar Kartikeya, Saransh Jain, Sagar Solanki, Avesh Khan, Kulwant Khejroliya, Anubhav Agarwal, Aryan Pandey.

Karnataka (first 2 rounds): Mayank Agarwal (c), Nikin Jose, Devdutt Padikkal, R Smaran, Manish Pandey, Shreyas Gopal, Sujay Sateri, Hardik Raj, Vyshak Vijayakumar, Prasidh Krishna, Vasuki Koushik, Luvnith Sisodia, Mohsin Khan, Vidyadhar Patil, Kishan Bedare, Abhilash Shetty

Kerala (first round): Sachin Baby (c), Rohan Kunnummal, Krishna Prasad, Baba Aparajith, Akshay Chandran, Mohammed Azharuddeen (wk), Salman Nizar, Vathsal Govind, Vishnu Vinod, Jalaj Saxena, Aditya Sarvate, Basil Thampi, Nidheesh MD, KM Asif, Fanoos F

Bengal (first 2 rounds): Anustup Majumdar, Wriddhiman Saha, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Sudip Gharami, Sudip Chatterjee, Abishek Porel, Shahbaz Ahmed, Writtick Chatterjee, Avilin Ghosh, Suvam Dey, Amir Gani, Pradipta Pramanik, Akash Deep, Mukesh Kumar, Md. Kaif, Suraj Jaiswal, Rishav Vivek, Yudhajit Guha, Rohit Kumar

Tamil Nadu (1st round): R. Sai Kishore (c), N. Jagadeesan (Vice Captain), B. Indrajith, B. Sai Sudharsan, Vijay Shankar, Pradosh Ranjan Paul, M. Shahrukh Khan, Boopathi Vaishna Kumar, S. Mohamed Ali, C. Andre Siddarth, S. Ajith Ram, S. Lokeshwar, S. Lakshay Jain, Sandeep Warrier, Gurjapneet Singh, M. Mohammed, R. Sonu Yadav, M. Siddharth.

Delhi (first 2 rounds): Himmat Singh (c), Ayush Badoni, Anuj Rawat (wk), Sanat Sangwan, Dhruv Kaushik, Yash Dhull, Jonty Sidhu, Mayank Rawat, Kshitiz Sharma, Pranav Rajuvanshi (wk), Sumit Mathur, Navdeep Saini, Himanshu Chauhan, Simarjeet Singh*/Divij Mehra, Hrithik Shokeen, Harsh Tyagi, Money Grewal, Shivank Vashisth

Saurashtra: Jaydev Unadkat (c), Cheteshwar Pujara, Harvik Desai (wk), Sheldon Jackson, Tarang Gohel, Arpit Vasavada, Chirag Jani, Prerak Mankad, Yuvrajsinh Dodiya, D Jadeja, Parth Bhut, Vishvaraj Jadeja, Hiten Kanbi, Navneet Vora, Parswaraj Rana

Chhattisgarh: Amandeep Khare, Shashank Singh, Bhupen Lalwani, Eknath Kerkar, Ajay Mandal, Shubham Agarwal, Ashutosh Singh, Ayush Pandey, Jivesh Butte, Ashish Chouhan, Sanjeet Desai, Ravi Kiran, Rishabh Tiwari, Anuj Tiwary, Vasudev Bareth, Vishvas Malik

Railways: Pratham Singh (c), Suraj Ahuja, Vivek Singh, Upendra Yadav, Ashutosh Sharma (vc), Yuvraj Singh, Karn Sharma, Ayan Chaudhari, Shivam Chaudhary, Kunal Yadav, Bhargav Merai, Mohammad Saif, Akash Pandey, Himanshu Sangwan, Adarsh Singh

Jammu & Kashmir: Paras Dogra (c), Shubham Khajuria (vc), Abdul Samad, Abhinav Puri, Shubham Pundir, Abid Mushtaq, Vivrant Sharma, Rasikh Salam, Rohit Sharma, Umran Malik, Yudhvir Singh, Auqib Nabi, Ahmed Banday, Sahil Lotra, Shivansh Sharma

Assam: Denish Das (c), Sibsankar Roy, Rahul Singh, Sidharth Sarmah, Bhargav Dutta, Rishav Das, Mrinmoy Dutta, Sumit Ghadigaonkar, Rahul Hazarika, Mukhtar Hussain, Parvej Musaraf, Ruhinandan Pegu, Kunal Sarma, Akash Sengupta, Abhishek Thakuri

The Road to March 2025: A Long and Grueling Campaign

The Ranji Trophy 2024-25 season, which stretches from October 11, 2024, to March 2025, is a marathon of red-ball cricket. Over the course of five months, teams will face off in grueling multi-day matches, with every session carrying immense importance. The new format, with the added pressure of promotion and relegation, means that each match will have ramifications beyond the immediate result.

Teams will have to balance their strategies carefully—aiming for outright wins while also securing valuable points in drawn matches. With unpredictable weather conditions, challenging pitches, and long travel schedules, this season promises to test the endurance, skill, and mental strength of every team.

A New Era for Domestic Cricket

The 2024-25 Ranji Trophy promises to be a landmark season in Indian domestic cricket, with the introduction of the promotion and relegation system adding a fresh layer of intrigue and excitement. The revamped format encourages competitive cricket, provides opportunities for emerging teams, and ensures that every match counts.

As the tournament progresses, fans can expect thrilling contests, standout performances from future stars, and nail-biting finishes. Whether it’s Mumbai’s quest to add another title to their collection, or a team from the Plate group making a breakthrough, the Ranji Trophy continues to be the heartbeat of Indian cricket. This season is set to showcase the very best of India’s rich cricketing talent and the competitive spirit that has defined the tournament for nearly a century.

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