41. That is the first-innings lead Jammu and Kashmir held over Rest of India at stumps on Day 2 of the Irani Cup in Srinagar. It is the first number of a season in which J&K play, for the first time, as Ranji Trophy champions.
The Irani Cup is the warm-up. The real defence begins on 11 October. Here is the season in numbers, as far as they have been announced.
Where the Irani Cup stands
Rest of India were bowled out for 237 on Day 1 at the Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium. According to Kashmir Reader's report, Sunil Kumar took 3 for 36, Lone Nasir 3 for 59 and Umar Nazir Mir 2 for 65, with Shikhar Mohan (60), Smaran Ravichandran (68) and Sarfaraz Khan (45) the main scorers for the visitors.
On Day 2, J&K slid to 37 for 4 in the morning and 166 for 8 after lunch, according to reports carried by The Tribune and others, before captain Paras Dogra (75), Abdul Samad (57) and Lone Nasir Muzaffar (64 off 58 balls, batting at No. 10) took them to 278. Mukesh Choudhary finished with 5 for 78 for Rest of India. Rest of India then reached 24 for 1 at stumps, trailing by 17 runs with nine second-innings wickets in hand.
That is the state of play as of the close of Day 2. The match is scheduled for five days. Some sources, including bjsports.live, have listed the dates as 1-6 October, but Technosports, Outlook India and the match reports carry 1-5 October, which is what we use (we could not open a BCCI page with the schedule). We have not seen a result and are not reporting one. For the squad and how to watch, see our earlier pieces: J&K host the Irani Cup as Ranji champions and Update: JKCA names 18 for the Irani Cup.
10 days to the defence
J&K open their 2026-27 Ranji Trophy campaign on 11 October against Madhya Pradesh, when Phase 1 begins nationwide. According to the 2026-27 domestic schedule reported by Technosports and Outlook India, the fixture has not been given a venue in the sources we could find. We will not guess one; check the JKCA and BCCI announcements.
Eight teams, one group
J&K sit in Elite Group A with seven other sides: Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, Baroda, Puducherry, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Goa. Phase 2 starts on 17 January 2027, and the knockout stage runs from 9 February to 3 March 2027.
60 wickets, and one fast bowler
Auqib Nabi took 60 wickets in the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy, the most in the tournament, according to Outlook India. Read more in 60 wickets at 12.65: Auqib Nabi is in India's ODI squad. His rise is part of why the title was won; how much of the attack he will be available for during the Ranji season has not been announced.
The title itself came with a modest margin. J&K beat Karnataka on first-innings lead in the final at the KSCA ground in Hubballi, per Outlook India. A first-innings lead was enough in 2025-26, and the same arithmetic will matter again in a league of eight.
A home-grown addition
Fast bowler Brijesh Sharma from Mada in Udhampur district, who made his IPL debut for Rajasthan Royals in 2026 and took 14 wickets in 13 games, has linked up with the J&K team for the Ranji season, a JKCA source told IANS in August. Whether he features in the opener has not been announced. Our earlier profile: From Mada to the Ranji champions.
Why it matters to you
If you play club cricket in Jammu, Samba or Kathua, this is the pathway you can see: age-group cricket, JKCA camps, then a state side that now holds the national first-class title. The squad for 11 October has not been published at the time of writing, and no ticketing arrangements for Ranji games have been announced.
%2Fgreater-kashmir%2Fmedia%2Fmedia_files%2F2026%2F06%2F27%2Fgmc-jammu-2026-06-27-05-46-24.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
