It is played by the teams from the Ranji Trophy, which is the premier domestic first-class cricket championship in the country. In 2006–07, the inaugural competition was won by Tamil Nadu under the captaincy of Dinesh Karthik. The 2023–24 tournament was won by Punjab, who defeated Baroda in the final. Tamil Nadu has been the most successful team, winning the trophy three times.
The tournament is played under Twenty20 (T20) rules. Originally known as the Inter-State T20 Championship, it was inaugurated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the 2006–07 season. Except in 2016–17, the tournament has been contested by teams involved in the Ranji Trophy, 27 at first and currently (2023) 38. The format begun with a round-robin stage with the teams divided into zonal groups, with the top teams in each group qualifying for a knockout stage culminating in the final tie. In 2012–13, the BCCI decided to replace the knockout with a Super League consisting of two groups, the winners of which qualified for the final. In June 2016, the BCCI relaunched the competition using zonal teams, as in the Duleep Trophy, but they reverted to the Ranji teams in 2017. Since then, the number of competing teams have increased to 38 and the knockout stage has been restored.[2]
The 38 teams are divided into five Elite groups, namely A, B, C, D, and E. There used to be a Plate group for newer teams but it has been discontinued. There are eight teams in groups A, B, and C who play seven matches each. Groups D and E have seven teams who play six matches each. The top-ranked teams in each group qualify for the knockout stage along with the three best runners-up. The knockout consists of four quarter-final matches, two semi-finals and the final.[3]
