The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was established on 1 December 1928 at Madras. Anthony de Mello, one of the founders of the BCCI, proposed the idea of a national level, first-class cricket championship during a meeting of the BCCI at Shimla in July 1934. Fifteen teams contested in the inaugural edition of the championship in 1934-35. The first match of the competition was held on 4 November 1934 between Madras and Mysore at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium at Madras, and was completed on a single day.
Initially, the inaugural tournament was named as the “Cricket Championship of India”. Bhupinder Singh, the Maharaja of Patiala, donated the trophy for the tournament, and suggested that it be named after Ranjitsinhji, the first Indian to play international cricket. The championship was renamed as “Ranji Trophy” ahead of the second season in 1935-36. The tournament has been held annually since its inception with the only exception in 2020-21, when the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
