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The Irani Cup is an annual First-Class cricket match organized by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The tournament is contested in every domestic season by the defending Ranji Trophy champions and a multi-state Rest of India (RoI) team consisting of players from other state teams.
The first edition of the Irani Cup took place in March 1960 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Ranji Trophy, premier domestic cricket tournament in India. It was initially intended as a one-off match and was established as an annual fixture by the governing body in 1962. The Irani Trophy is named after Zal R. Irani, a long-serving president and treasurer of the board, who was a prominent figure in the BCCI from its founding in 1928 until his death in 1970.
In this event, if a match ends in a draw, the trophy is awarded to the team with the first innings lead. Meanwhile, during the 1965–66 season of domestic cricket in India, the trophy was shared because neither Bombay nor ROI’s first innings could be completed.
History
The first match in the Irani Cup took place in the 1959–60 season to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Ranji Trophy. In 1962, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) made the fixture an annual event, although it was not held in the 1964–65 season.
Initially, the first three matches were played at the end of India’s domestic cricket season. Later, the BCCI moved the fixture to the beginning of the season. From 1965–66 to 2012–13, it traditionally marked the start of each season.
In 2013, the match was rescheduled to take place after the Ranji Trophy final, which saw two Irani Cup matches in the 2012–13 season. Since then, it has remained at the end of the season, contested after the Ranji Trophy final. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament was canceled, and in 2022, the BCCI organized two back-to-back editions– the 2019–20 and 2022–23 matches, held in Rajkot and Indore, respectively.
In the inaugural match between Bombay and the Rest of India at Karnail Singh Stadium in Delhi, Bombay emerged victorious in the drawn game by securing the first innings lead. During the match, three Test batters Polly Umrigar, Nari Contractor, and M. L. Jaisimha—each scored centuries.
Results
Here is a list of the results of all Irani Cup matches till the 2023-24 season. According to Wikipedia, the Rest of India (ROI) has participated in all 60 matches, winning 26, losing 25, and drawing eight. The team with the most appearances is Mumbai (previously Bombay), with 29 matches and 12 victories.
Meanwhile, Karnataka have played in eight matches, winning six, while Delhi have participated in seven, securing two victories. Four teams have appeared twice: Railways (with two wins), Vidarbha (two draws), Rajasthan (two losses), and Saurashtra (two losses). In addition, nine other teams have made a single appearance at the event.
| Season | Venue | Winner | Runner-up | Result |
| 1959–60 | Karnail Singh Stadium, Delhi | Bombay | Rest of India | match drawn |
| 1960–61 | no competition | |||
| 1961–62 | ||||
| 1962–63 | Brabourne Stadium | Bombay | Rest of India | match drawn |
| 1963–64 | District College Stadium, Anantpur | Bombay | Rest of India | 109 runs |
| 1964–65 | no competition | |||
| 1965–66 | Nehru Stadium, Madras | — | — | match drawn |
| 1966–67 | Eden Gardens | Rest of India | Bombay | 6 wickets |
| 1967–68 | Brabourne Stadium | Bombay | Rest of India | match drawn |
| 1968–69 | Brabourne Stadium | Rest of India | Bombay | 119 runs |
| 1969–70 | Poona Club Ground, Poona | Bombay | Rest of India | match drawn |
| 1970–71 | Eden Gardens | Bombay | Rest of India | match drawn |
| 1971–72 | Brabourne Stadium | Rest of India | Bombay | 119 runs |
| 1972–73 | Poona | Bombay | Rest of India | 220 runs |
| 1973–74 | Bangalore | Rest of India | Bombay | match drawn |
| 1974–75 | Ahmedabad | Karnataka | Rest of India | match drawn |
| 1975–76 | Vidarbha | Bombay | Rest of India | match drawn |
| 1976–77 | Feroz Shah Kotla | Bombay | Rest of India | 10 wickets |
| 1977–78 | Wankhede Stadium | Rest of India | Bombay | innings and 168 runs |
| 1978–79 | Bangalore | Rest of India | Karnataka | 9 wickets |
| 1979–80 | Jalandhar | — | — | abandoned |
| 1980–81 | Feroz Shah Kotla | Delhi | Rest of India | match drawn |
| 1981–82 | Indore | Bombay | Rest of India | match drawn |
| 1982–83 | Feroz Shah Kotla | Rest of India | Delhi | 5 wickets |
| 1983–84 | Rajkot | Karnataka | Rest of India | match drawn |
| 1984–85 | Feroz Shah Kotla | Rest of India | Bombay | 4 wickets |
| 1985–86 | Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground | Bombay | Rest of India | match drawn |
| 1986–87 | Jodhpur | Rest of India | Delhi | innings and 232 runs |
| 1987–88 | Secunderabad | Hyderabad | Rest of India | match drawn |
| 1988–89 | Chepauk Stadium | Tamil Nadu | Rest of India | 3 wickets |
| 1989–90 | Wankhede Stadium | Delhi | Rest of India | 309 runs |
| 1990–91 | Bangalore | Rest of India | Bengal | match drawn |
| 1991–92 | Faridabad | Haryana | Rest of India | 4 wickets |
| 1992–93 | Feroz Shah Kotla | Rest of India | Delhi | innings and 122 runs |
| 1993–94 | Ludhiana | Rest of India | Punjab | 181 runs |
| 1994–95 | Wankhede Stadium | Bombay | Rest of India | match drawn |
| 1995–96 | Wankhede Stadium | Bombay | Rest of India | 9 wickets |
| 1996–97 | Bangalore | Karnataka | Rest of India | 5 wickets |
| 1997–98 | Wankhede Stadium | Mumbai | Rest of India | 54 runs |
| 1998–99 | Bangalore | Karnataka | Rest of India | match drawn |
| 1999–2000 | Bangalore | Rest of India | Karnataka | innings and 60 runs |
| 2000–01 | Wankhede Stadium | Rest of India | Mumbai | 10 wickets |
| 2001–02 | Vidarbha | Rest of India | Baroda | 6 wickets |
| 2002–03 | Delhi | Railways | Rest of India | 5 wickets |
| 2003–04 | Chepauk Stadium | Rest of India | Mumbai | 3 wickets |
| 2004–05 | Mohali | Rest of India | Mumbai | 290 runs |
| 2005–06 | Delhi | Railways | Rest of India | 9 wickets |
| 2006–07 | Vidarbha | Rest of India | Uttar Pradesh | 9 wickets |
| 2007–08 | Rajkot | Rest of India | Mumbai | 9 wickets |
| 2008–09 | Vadodara | Rest of India | Delhi | 187 runs |
| 2009–10 | Vidarbha | Rest of India | Mumbai | match drawn |
| 2010–11 | Jaipur | Rest of India | Mumbai | 361 runs |
| 2011–12 | Jaipur | Rest of India | Rajasthan | 404 runs |
| 2012–13 | Bangalore | Rest of India | Rajasthan | innings and 79 runs |
| 2013 | Wankhede Stadium | Rest of India | Mumbai | match drawn |
| 2013–14 | Bangalore | Karnataka | Rest of India | innings and 222 runs |
| 2014–15 | Bangalore | Karnataka | Rest of India | 246 runs |
| 2015–16 | Brabourne Stadium | Rest of India | Mumbai | 4 wickets |
| 2016–17 | Brabourne Stadium | Rest of India | Gujarat | 6 wickets |
| 2017–18 | Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium | Vidarbha | Rest of India | match drawn |
| 2018–19 | Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium | Vidarbha | Rest of India | match drawn |
| 2019–20 | Rajkot | Rest of India | Saurashtra | 8 wickets |
| 2020–21 | Canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic | |||
| 2021–22 | ||||
| 2022–23 | Gwalior | Rest of India | Madhya Pradesh | 238 runs |
| 2023–24 | Rajkot | Rest of India | Saurashtra | 175 runs |
Most Runs and Wickets in Irani Cup
Most Runs
- Wasim Jaffer | 1997-2018 | 1,294 runs | Teams: Mumbai / Rest of India / Vidarbha
- Gundappa Viswanath | 1971-1983 | 1,001 runs | Teams: Karnataka / Rest of India
- Ajinkya Rahane | 2007-2019 | 809 runs | Teams: Mumbai / Rest of India
- Dilip Vengsarkar | 1975-1986 | 779 runs | Team: Rest of India
- Anil Mankad | 1964-1981 | 766 runs | Team: Not specified
Most wickets
- P.K. Shivalkar | 1965-1978 | 51 wickets | Team: Not specified
- B.S. Chandrasekhar | 1964-1978 | 40 wickets | Teams: Karnataka / Rest of India
- Maninder Singh | 1982-1992 | 35 wickets | Teams: Delhi / Rest of India
- S.V. Bahutule | 1994-2004 | 34 wickets | Team: Mumbai
- S. Venkataraghavan | 1965-1978 | 34 wickets | Team: Rest of India
2024–25 Irani Cup
The 2024–25 Irani Cup will mark the 61st edition of this first-class cricket tournament in India. The match will feature Mumbai, the champions of the 2023–24 Ranji Trophy, competing against a Rest of India team. The event which is scheduled from October 1 to 5, 2024 will take place in Lucknow. The Rest of India will enter the tournament as the defending champions.
Squads
Young Indian cricket players Dhruv Jurel and Yash Dayal have been included in the Rest of India squad. However, their availability is based on whether they participate in the ongoing second Test match against Bangladesh at Green Park Stadium in Kanpur. Sarfaraz Khan, who has been retained in the Indian cricket team for the second Test, will be released to represent the Mumbai team.
| Mumbai | Rest of India |
| Captain | |
| Ajinkya Rahane | Ruturaj Gaikwad |
| Batsmen | |
| Shreyas Iyer Musheer Khan Prithvi Shaw Sarfaraz Khan Siddhesh Lad Suryansh Shedge Ayush Mhatre | Abhimanyu Easwaran Ricky Bhui Devdutt Padikkal Shashwat Rawat Sai Sudharsan |
| Wicket-Keepers | |
| Hardik Tamore Sidhaant Addhatrao | Dhruv Jurel Ishan Kishan |
| All-Rounders | |
| Shardul Thakur Shams Mulani Tanush Kotian | Manav Suthar Saransh Jain Rahul Chahar |
| Bowlers | |
| Himanshu Singh Mohit Avasthi Mohd. Juned Khan Royston Dias | Khaleel Ahmed Yash Dayal Prasidh Krishna Mukesh Kumar |
