Ranji Trophy Winning Captains (1934-2026)

Ranji Trophy Winning Captains (X.com)

The final of the 91st edition of the Ranji Trophy concluded on February 28, 2026, with Jammu and Kashmir winning their first-ever title in the coveted championship. The Paras Dogra-led J&K made history by defeating Karnataka after a thumping 291-run first innings lead.

The Ranji Trophy was first introduced in the 1934-35 season under the name “Cricket Championship of India,” and was renamed the following year.

It is worth noting that the inaugural edition was won by Mumbai (previously Bombay), which is now the most successful team in the Ranji Trophy with 42 trophies to their name. Meanwhile, Ajit Wadekar and C. K. Nayudu are regarded as the most successful captains in the premier first-class tournament, having led their teams, Mumbai and Holkar, to the trophy 4 times each.

Paras Dogra wins maiden Ranji title for J&K

Jammu and Kashmir have ended a 67-year wait for a Ranji Trophy title, and have done it in some style, completely dominating the 8-time title holders Karnataka and finishing with a 633-run lead for their first-ever domestic First Class success.

The Paras Dogra-led side became the ninth team in the tournament’s history to win the championship in its maiden final appearance.

“I can’t explain, to be honest. I don’t have any words right now. It’s the biggest thing right now in my life. This will be with me till the time I go away from this world,” said Captain Dogra to the broadcasters after the game.

With contributions from almost everyone in the squad, J&K was able to pull off the unthinkable. It beat Bengal convincingly in the semifinal and carried over the momentum into the final, showcasing all-around supremacy.

That being said, in this article, take a look at all the Ranji Trophy winning captains over the years.

List of all Ranji Trophy Winning Captains (1934-2026)

Season	Winning Team	Winning Captain
1934–35	Bombay	L. P. Jai
1935–36	Bombay	Hormasji Vajifdar
1936–37	Bengal	Albert Wensley
1937–38	Hyderabad	SM Hussain
1938–39	Bengal	Tom Longfield
1939–40	Maharashtra	D. B. Deodhar
1940–41	Maharashtra	D. B. Deodhar
1941–42	Bombay	Vijay Merchant
1942–43	Baroda	W.Ghorpade
1943–44	Western India	Herbert Barritt
1944–45	Bombay	Vijay Merchant
1945–46	Holkar	C. K. Nayudu
1946–47	Baroda	Raosaheb Nimbalkar
1947–48	Holkar	C. K. Nayudu
1948–49	Bombay	K. C. Ibrahim
1949–50	Baroda	Raosaheb Nimbalkar
1950–51	Holkar	C. K. Nayudu
1951–52	Bombay	Madhav Mantri
1952–53	Holkar	C. K. Nayudu
1953–54	Bombay	Ranga Sohoni
1954–55	Madras	Balu Alaganan
1955–56	Bombay	Madhav Mantri
1956–57	Bombay	Madhav Mantri
1957–58	Baroda	Datta Gaekwad
1958–59	Bombay	Madhav Apte
1959–60	Bombay	Polly Umrigar
1960–61	Bombay	Polly Umrigar
1961–62	Bombay	Madhav Apte
1962–63	Bombay	Polly Umrigar
1963–64	Bombay	Bapu Nadkarni
1964–65	Bombay	Bapu Nadkarni
1965–66	Bombay	Bapu Nadkarni
1966–67	Bombay	Manohar Hardikar
1967–68	Bombay	Manohar Hardikar
1968–69	Bombay	Ajit Wadekar
1969–70	Bombay	Ajit Wadekar
1970–71	Bombay	Sudhir Naik
1971–72	Bombay	Ajit Wadekar
1972–73	Bombay	Ajit Wadekar
1973–74	Karnataka	E. A. S. Prasanna
1974–75	Bombay	Ashok Mankad
1975–76	Bombay	Ashok Mankad
1976–77	Bombay	Sunil Gavaskar
1977–78	Karnataka	E. A. S. Prasanna
1978–79	Delhi	Bishan Singh Bedi
1979–80	Delhi	Bishan Singh Bedi
1980–81	Bombay	Eknath Solkar
1981–82	Delhi	Mohinder Amarnath
1982–83	Karnataka	Brijesh Patel
1983–84	Bombay	Sunil Gavaskar
1984–85	Bombay	Sunil Gavaskar
1985–86	Delhi	Madan Lal
1986–87	Hyderabad	M. V. Narasimha Rao
1987–88	Tamil Nadu	Krishnamachari Srikkanth
1988–89	Delhi	Madan Lal
1989–90	Bengal	Sambaran Banerjee
1990–91	Haryana	Kapil Dev
1991–92	Delhi	Ajay Sharma
1992–93	Punjab	Gursharan Singh
1993–94	Bombay	Ravi Shastri
1994–95	Bombay	Sachin Tendulkar
1995–96	Karnataka	Anil Kumble
1996–97	Mumbai	Sanjay Manjrekar
1997–98	Karnataka	Rahul Dravid
1998–99	Karnataka	Sunil Joshi
1999–00	Mumbai	Sameer Dighe
2000–01	Baroda	Jacob Martin
2001–02	Railways	Abhay Sharma
2002–03	Mumbai	Paras Mhambrey
2003–04	Mumbai	Sairaj Bahutule
2004–05	Railways	Sanjay Bangar
2005–06	Uttar Pradesh	Mohammad Kaif
2006–07	Mumbai	Amol Muzumdar
2007–08	Delhi	Gautam Gambhir
2008–09	Mumbai	Wasim Jaffer
2009–10	Mumbai	Wasim Jaffer
2010–11	Rajasthan	Hrishikesh Kanitkar
2011–12	Rajasthan	Hrishikesh Kanitkar
2012–13	Mumbai	Ajit Agarkar
2013–14	Karnataka	Vinay Kumar
2014–15	Karnataka	Vinay Kumar
2015–16	Mumbai	Aditya Tare
2016–17	Gujarat	Parthiv Patel
2017–18	Vidarbha	Faiz Fazal
2018–19	Vidarbha	Faiz Fazal
2019–20	Saurashtra	Jaydev Unadkat
2021–22	Madhya Pradesh	Aditya Shrivastava
2022–23	Saurashtra	Jaydev Unadkat
2023–24	Mumbai	Ajinkya Rahane
2024-25	Vidarbha	Akshay Wadkar
2025-26	Jammu and Kashmir	Paras Dogra

FAQs: Ranji Trophy Winning Captains

Q.1. Who is the winner of Ranji Trophy 2026?

Ans. The Ranji Trophy 2025-26 season came to a close with Jammu & Kashmir lifting its maiden title at the KSCA Stadium in Hubli.

Q.2. Who is the 12-year-old boy in the Ranji Trophy?

Ans. In January 2024, Vaibhav Suryavanshi made his Ranji Trophy debut for Bihar at the age of 12 against Mumbai.

Q.3. Did Virat Kohli play Ranji?

Ans. Yes, Virat Kohli has played the Ranji Trophy for Delhi, making his debut on November 23, 2006.

Q.4. Who won Ranji 96-97?

Ans. Under the astute leadership of Sanjay Manjrekar, the Mumbai Cricket team won the 1996-97 edition of India’s premier first-class tournament.

Q.5. Who is the most successful captain of the Indian team?

Ans. MS Dhoni is widely considered to be India’s most successful captain in the history of Indian cricket across limited-over formats. Under his leadership, India won three ICC trophies, including the 2007 T20 World Cup, 2011 ODI World Cup, and 2013 Champions Trophy. Meanwhile, Virat Kohli is the most successful Test captain for India, winning 40 games out of 68.

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