The 84th edition of Ranji Trophy is all set to get underway on October 6, 2017. 28 teams will battle for 4 months to win the most elusive trophy in India”s domestic circuit. The Ranji Trophy is to be played in Round-Robin format. 28 teams have been divided into 4 groups of 7 teams. Top 2 teams from each group will qualify for Quarterfinals. There will be a total of 91 games.
The group stage will be played between October 6 to November 29. The quarterfinals will take place on 7 December and the semis are penciled on December 17. The final will be played on December 29, 2017. Gujarat is the current defending champions after they beat Mumbai in final at Indore last year. Mumbai is the team who has won the title most times (41).
Last season BCCI had introduced the concept of neutral venues for Ranji matches in order to curb home advantage of teams. It didn”t quite work out well and brought anguish to the captains. Hence this season BCCI is back to home and away concept. Hence crowds will see their local Ranji heroes playing on their home turf after a while again. However, the knockouts will be played at neutral venues only.
With India touring South Africa, England, Australia and New Zealand in next 18 months, the coming Ranji Trophy provides a great opportunity to all youngsters to showcase their talent and knock selectors’ doors.
Here Are The Groups for the Ranji Trophy 2017/18
Group A: Karnataka, Delhi, Assam, Maharashtra, Hyderabad, Uttar Pradesh, Railways
Group B: Jharkhand, Gujarat, Kerala, Saurashtra, Haryana, Rajasthan, Jammu & Kashmir
Group C: Mumbai, Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Baroda, Tripura
Group D: Himachal Pradesh, Vidarbha, Punjab, Bengal, Services, Goa, Chhattisgarh
Here Are The Rounds Of Ranji Trophy 2017/18
Round 1 From 6th October- 9th October
Round 2 From 14th October -17th October
Round 3 From 24th October-27th October
Round 4 From 1st November – 4th November
Round 5 From 9th November – 12th November
Round 6 From 17th November – 20th November
Round 7 From 25th November – 28th November
Quarter-Finals: 7th December to 11th December
Semi-Finals: 17th December to 21st December
Final: 29th December to 2nd January
– by Atharva Apte
