Shami Takes Five as Bengal Beat Delhi by Nine Wickets in Ranji Trophy Round One
Mohammed Shami took five wickets in Bengal's nine-wicket win over Delhi, while Jadeja, Rahul and Jaiswal had mixed results before the New Zealand Tests.
The 2026-27 Ranji Trophy began on 11 October with 37 teams in its opening round. Bengal beat Delhi by nine wickets on 14 October, and several India Test players were in action in the same round. Their results come ahead of two Tests in New Zealand and a five-Test home series against Australia.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) describes domestic participation as a mandatory policy. Its secretary, Devajit Saikia, has said the Ranji Trophy remains central to India's talent pathway. The opening round gives the first results of the season for several of the players the policy covers.
Shami's Five Wickets Carry Bengal to a Nine-Wicket Win
Bengal beat Delhi by nine wickets in the four-day match at the Bengal Cricket Academy Ground, which ended on 14 October. Delhi were bowled out for 240 in their first innings, and Bengal replied with 429, a lead of 189. Delhi made 277 in their second innings, leaving Bengal a target of 89. Bengal reached it for the loss of one wicket in 15.3 overs.
Mohammed Shami took 4 for 30 in 17.3 overs in Delhi's first innings. Reports differ on his second-innings figures: SportsTak gives 1 for 42, while Outlook India gives 1 for 29. Both put his match figures at five wickets.
Abhishek Porel scored 149 and Sudip Kumar Gharami 133 for Bengal in their first innings. Ayush Badoni, Delhi's captain, made 85 off 134 balls in the second innings and took 5 for 81 in Bengal's first innings. Shami's five wickets carried Bengal to a nine-wicket win, but the round was mixed for India's Test players.
Mixed Returns for Jadeja, Rahul, Jaiswal and Siraj
Ravindra Jadeja scored 102 off 209 balls for Saurashtra against Chhattisgarh and took 3 for 40 in 17 overs. He was 72 not out on the opening day. The match was drawn, and the century is his 16th in first-class cricket.
KL Rahul made 4 and 1 for Karnataka against Andhra Pradesh, and that match was also drawn. He is India's vice-captain for the New Zealand Tests.
Yashasvi Jaiswal was out for a duck, off 13 balls, in Mumbai's match against Chandigarh. Mumbai won by an innings and 155 runs.
Mohammed Siraj took no wicket in Hyderabad's first innings against Tripura and took 2 for 19 in the second. Hyderabad won by an innings and 40 runs. Siraj is also in the Test squad for the New Zealand tour.
Washington Sundar, who plays for Tamil Nadu, was also among the India Test players in action in the round.
Rahul and Jaiswal recorded low scores, and all of Siraj's wickets came in the second innings. Taken together, the round produced a century, a five-wicket haul and a duck among the players named above, with Rahul scoring 4 and 1.
Players in the New Zealand Squad
The squad for the two Tests has 16 players, led by Shubman Gill, with KL Rahul as vice-captain. Rishabh Pant and Dhruv Jurel are the wicketkeepers.
Jasprit Bumrah returns after missing the Sri Lanka Test, and Akash Deep is back in the side after a gap of more than a year. Pant is listed as subject to fitness after an injury in the Irani Trophy.
The squad includes several players with contrasting opening-round results. Jadeja made a century, Jaiswal was out for a duck and Rahul scored 4 and 1.
Jadeja, Jaiswal and Siraj are in the squad and also featured in the opening-round matches described above.
Two Tests in New Zealand, Then Five Against Australia
The first New Zealand Test is scheduled to start on 19 November 2026 in Wellington. The second starts on 27 November 2026 in Christchurch. Both are part of the 2025–2027 World Test Championship cycle.
The Australia series is five Tests, starting on 21 January 2027 at Nagpur. The later Tests are at Chennai (29 January to 2 February), Guwahati (11 to 15 February), Ranchi (19 to 23 February) and Ahmedabad (27 February to 3 March).
BCCI's fixtures list places the five Tests in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which concludes the home season. Start times are 9:30 AM for four of the Tests and 9:00 AM for the Guwahati Test. The home season has 22 international matches in 17 cities, against West Indies, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Australia.
Bengal's match against Delhi ended on 14 October, 36 days before the first New Zealand Test begins on 19 November.
Shami's five wickets carried Bengal to a nine-wicket win, but the round was mixed for India's Test players.
Why the BCCI Wants Test Players on Domestic Duty
Saikia has said the mandatory domestic participation policy keeps senior players in rhythm. He has also said it helps younger players learn by sharing a dressing room with them.
Yahoo Sports reports that the Ranji Trophy is central to India's talent pathway, and points to recent selections as evidence that strong domestic performances lead to national call-ups. The stated reasons cover two groups: senior players, who keep their match rhythm, and younger players, who learn from them.
Shami, Jadeja, Rahul, Jaiswal, Siraj and Sundar were all in action during the opening round, which began on 11 October.
What Is Still Open Before the First Test
Pant's fitness is one open question in the squad details reported so far.
Shami is not in the 16-man squad, even though he took five wickets in the opening round.
