Ranji Trophy 2023-24 starts on January 5

NEW DELHI — The country’s premier first-class cricket tournament - Ranji Trophy 2023-24 starts on January 5. Several international names and rising talent will be seen in action as 38 teams, across two categories, will be a part of the tournament.

Hyderabad and Nagaland have moved to the Plate category and will join Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Sikkim.

Meanwhile, Bihar and Manipur have reached the Elite category. The Elite category matches will be played across 48 venues, while the Plate category matches will be hosted in five venues.

Top international names Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Mayank Agarwal and others will be in action and will look to make a mark, especially ahead of the five-match home series against England, which starts later this month.

Defending champion Saurashtra will start their campaign against Jharkhand in an Elite Group A match at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot.

Jaydev Unadkat will be leading the Saurashtra side and will be joined by veteran India batter, Cheteshwar Pujara. In the 2023-24 domestic season, Saurashtra failed to reach the knockout stage of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy.

In Elite Group C, Gujarat, led by Chintan Gaja, will face Tamil Nadu at the Sardar Vallabhai Patel Stadium, Valsad. Left-arm spinner R. Sai Kishore will lead the Tamil Nadu side. T. Natarajan, whose last first-class game was his Test debut against Australia in 2021, is making a comeback to the side after three years, having last played in 2020 against Railways.

In Elite Group B, Chhattisgarh will face Riyan Parag led-Assam at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, Raipur. Amandeep Khare, the only cricketer from Chhattisgarh to have played for India in the U-19 World Cup, will lead the team.

Ranji Trophy 2024 groups:

Elite Group A: Haryana, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Manipur, Rajasthan, Saurashtra, Services, Vidarbha

Elite Group B: Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bengal, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh

Elite Group C: Chandigarh, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Punjab, Railways, Tamil Nadu, Tripura

Elite Group D: Baroda, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Puducherry, Uttarakhand

Plate Group: Nagaland, Hyderabad, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh