Ranji Trophy Player Salary 2026: Match Fee Per Day, Per Match Earnings And Prize Money

Published: January 18, 2025, 6:18 PM IST | Updated: October 3, 2026, 2:15 PM IST
Written by Akash Saha | Edited and fact-checked by Amit Saha | Editorial policy

How much does a Ranji Trophy player earn? A Ranji Trophy cricketer is paid a match fee for every day of cricket, not a fixed monthly salary. Under the BCCI’s current structure, a senior player in the playing XI earns Rs 40,000, Rs 50,000 or Rs 60,000 per day depending on how many senior domestic matches he has played, and reserves get half. That works out to between Rs 1.6 lakh and Rs 2.4 lakh for a four-day Ranji Trophy match.

Ranji Trophy player salary and match fees per day

Ranji Trophy Match Fees Per Day (Current BCCI Structure)

The BCCI announced this graded pay structure for men’s domestic cricketers on September 20, 2021, and it is still the rate card in use as of October 2026. Reports during the 2024-25 season, when Virat Kohli returned to the Ranji Trophy for Delhi, confirmed the same Rs 40,000 / Rs 50,000 / Rs 60,000 slabs, and the BCCI’s later pay revisions in December 2025 and September 2026 covered women players and match officials, not men’s Ranji fees. A player’s slab is decided by the number of senior domestic matches he has played.

Experience (matches played)	Playing XI (per day)	Reserves (per day)	Per 4-day Ranji match (Playing XI)
0–20 matches	Rs 40,000	Rs 20,000	Rs 1,60,000
21–40 matches	Rs 50,000	Rs 25,000	Rs 2,00,000
41+ matches	Rs 60,000	Rs 30,000	Rs 2,40,000

Source: BCCI pay revision of September 2021, as reported by Scroll and The Quint.

Age-group players are paid a flat rate regardless of experience. Under-23 players in the playing XI get Rs 25,000 per day (reserves Rs 12,500), and Under-19 players get Rs 20,000 per day (reserves Rs 10,000).

How Much Does a Ranji Player Earn in a Season?

Because players are paid per day, season earnings depend on how many matches a player plays and how far his team goes. As an example, a senior player in the 41+ slab who plays seven four-day league matches earns Rs 16.8 lakh in Ranji Trophy match fees alone (7 × 4 × Rs 60,000). A newcomer in the 0–20 slab playing the same seven matches earns Rs 11.2 lakh.

Players can add to this by featuring in the BCCI’s white-ball competitions, the Vijay Hazare Trophy (one-day) and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (T20), as well as the Duleep Trophy and Irani Cup. Many also earn from IPL contracts, which are separate from BCCI domestic fees. Those who break into the India team move on to annual retainers, explained in our report on BCCI central contracts.

How the Pay Has Changed Over the Years

Before 2021: Senior players earned a flat Rs 35,000 per day in the Ranji Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy, and Rs 17,500 per Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy game.
September 2021: The BCCI introduced the three experience-based slabs of Rs 40,000, Rs 50,000 and Rs 60,000 per day. Players from the 2019-20 season also got 50% extra match fees as compensation for the Covid-hit 2020-21 season, when the Ranji Trophy was not held.
March 2024: The Mumbai Cricket Association decided to pay its Ranji Trophy players an additional match fee on top of the BCCI amount from the following season, after Mumbai won their 42nd title.
January 2025: When Virat Kohli played for Delhi against Railways, reports put his fee at Rs 60,000 per day, or Rs 2.4 lakh for the four-day match, confirming the top slab was unchanged.
December 2025: The BCCI more than doubled match fees for women’s domestic cricketers and raised fees for match officials. That revision did not change men’s Ranji Trophy fees.
September 2026: Ahead of the 2026-27 season, the BCCI announced a new pay structure for domestic umpires and match referees. Men’s player match fees were not part of that announcement.

Ranji Trophy Prize Money

On top of match fees, teams share prize money. The BCCI raised it in April 2023:

Winners: Rs 5 crore (up from Rs 2 crore)
Runners-up: Rs 3 crore
Losing semi-finalists: Rs 1 crore each

Jammu & Kashmir are the most recent champions. They won their maiden Ranji Trophy title in February 2026, taking the 2025-26 crown on first-innings lead after the final against Karnataka in Hubballi was drawn. See the full Ranji Trophy winners list.

Why the Ranji Trophy Still Matters

The Ranji Trophy is India’s premier first-class competition and the main route into the Test team. It began in 1934, when Madras and Mysore played the first match at Chepauk in Chennai. Strong Ranji seasons remain one of the clearest ways for a player to catch the national selectors’ attention; see the batters with the most runs in Ranji Trophy history and the fastest centuries in the Ranji Trophy. For more, browse our domestic cricket coverage.

Related: Cricket Salaries and Earnings

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the salary of a Ranji Trophy player in 2026?

Ranji Trophy players are paid per day of cricket, not a monthly salary. As of October 2026, a senior player in the playing XI earns Rs 40,000 (0-20 matches), Rs 50,000 (21-40 matches) or Rs 60,000 (41+ matches) per day. Reserves get half.

How much does a Ranji Trophy player earn per match?

For a four-day Ranji Trophy match, a playing XI member earns Rs 1.6 lakh, Rs 2 lakh or Rs 2.4 lakh, depending on his experience slab.

How much do reserve players get in the Ranji Trophy?

Reserve players get half the playing XI fee: Rs 20,000, Rs 25,000 or Rs 30,000 per day depending on experience.

What is the prize money for winning the Ranji Trophy?

The Ranji Trophy winners get Rs 5 crore, the runners-up Rs 3 crore and each losing semi-finalist Rs 1 crore, under the BCCI prize money revision of April 2023.

When was the Ranji Trophy match fee last revised?

The BCCI last revised men’s domestic match fees in September 2021, when it introduced the three experience-based slabs. Its later pay revisions in December 2025 (women’s domestic cricket and match officials) and September 2026 (umpires and match referees) did not change men’s Ranji fees.