Ranji Trophy 2022-23: One of the most important tournaments in the Indian Domestic Circuit, Ranji Trophy will start on December 13. The tournament that is played amongst the best players in the country is one of the stages from where the players are filtered for the national squad.

With a flurry of changes happening in the Indian Cricket Scene, it is important for India to look for next-generation players ready already. For the same reason, this Ranji Trophy will be crucial for players individually as they showcase their skills competing against the best.

There has always been confusion about the format of the Ranji Trophy, let’s take a look at how Ranji Trophy 2022-23 will be played:

Ranji Trophy 2022-23 Format

The 2022-23 Ranji Trophy will feature 39 teams in total, which will be split into five groups. Eight teams are divided into each of the four Elite groups. While the Plate group consists of seven sides. Teams will play their matches in a home-and-away style in 2022–23 following the shorter round-robin round last time out. Each team in an Elite group will compete in seven games. Those in the Plate group will compete in five games.

The top-placed team in each Elite group advances to the quarterfinal. The teams who place second will then be ranked from 8 to 1 based on their total points, victories, and NRR, if necessary. In a pre-quarterfinal matchup, the team that places eighth overall will compete against the Plate group winner.

The top four clubs in the Plate group, meanwhile, will advance to the Plate semi-final. The top-ranked team will face the fourth-ranked team, while the second- and third-placed teams will square off. The winner of the final, which will be played against one of the four teams that came in second place in their Elite group, will be decided by the victor of these two semi-final matches.

Ranji Trophy 2022-23 Groups

Elite Group A – Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Baroda, Odisha and Nagaland

Elite Group B – Mumbai, Saurashtra, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Assam

Elite Group C – Kerala, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Services, Chattisgarh, Rajasthan, Goa and Pondicherry

Elite Group D – Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, Railways, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Chandigarh and Tripura.

Plate Group – Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim

The first round of matches for Ranji Trophy 2022-23 season start from December 13. The knockout stage will start from January 31. There is a long way to go for that. The final will be held on Februrary 16.

Madhya Pradesh is the current Champion. They beat Vidarbha in the Ranji Trophy 2021-22 Finals to lift the trophy for the first time as a state team.

Ranji Trophy Schedule 2022-23

The Ranji Trophy Schedule will posted as soon as the venues are Confirmed.