Mumbai, Oct. 8 -- When Mumbai's Ranji Trophy captain Siddhesh Lad made his first-class debut in 2013 under Zaheer Khan, there used to be four-five title favourites. Among them would be Mumbai, Delhi, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Over the past 10 years, the 34-year-old Lad, who also played a season for Goa, has seen the level of competition change massively.

Starting with Gujarat's title run in the 2016-17, many new champion teams have emerged. 2025-26 threw up the biggest surprise with Jammu & Kashmir winning. Vidarbha, who bagged their maiden title in 2017-18, lifted their third Ranji Trophy in 2024-25. In 2022-23, Saurashtra won the Ranji Trophy for the second time in three seasons and it was after Madhya Pradesh won for the first time in...