The Irani Cup 2026 is set to bring a major domestic cricket spectacle to Srinagar, with Ranji Trophy champions Jammu & Kashmir taking on a strong Rest of India side in a five-day first-class contest.

The match is particularly significant for Jammu & Kashmir, who won their maiden Ranji Trophy title in the 2025-26 season. It will also mark a major moment for cricket in the Valley, with the historic Sher-i-Kashmir Cricket Stadium preparing to host the prestigious fixture.

Irani Cup 2026: Date and Match Time

The Irani Cup 2026 match will be played from October 1 to October 5.

The contest will begin at 9:30 am IST on the opening day, with play scheduled to start at the same time on each day of the five-day fixture.

Historic Irani Cup match in Srinagar

The venue is one of the biggest talking points surrounding the fixture.

The Sher-i-Kashmir Cricket Stadium in Srinagar will be hosting the Irani Cup for the first time. The match also represents the return of a major domestic cricket fixture to the Valley after a long gap in high-profile cricket.

The stadium has also been upgraded for the occasion. Broadcast arrangements include a multi-camera setup, DRS, Hawk-Eye technology and stump microphones, giving the contest production standards associated with top-level cricket.

For Jammu & Kashmir cricket, the occasion comes soon after the biggest achievement in the team’s history.

Jammu & Kashmir enter as Ranji Trophy champions

Jammu & Kashmir earned their place in the Irani Cup after winning the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy, the first Ranji title in the team’s history.

Veteran batter Paras Dogra, who captained the side during its historic campaign, will lead J&K in the Irani Cup. The squad also includes familiar domestic names such as Shubham Khajuria, Qamran Iqbal, Abdul Samad, Abid Mushtaq, Sahil Lotra and Umar Nazir.

The match therefore offers J&K an opportunity to test themselves against a Rest of India team containing several players with international experience.

Rishabh Pant to lead Rest of India

The Rest of India side will be captained by Rishabh Pant, adding considerable attention to the fixture.

Pant was not included in India’s ODI squad for the West Indies series and will instead return to competitive cricket as the Rest of India captain. Sarfaraz Khan has been named vice-captain.

The squad also includes several of the leading performers from the previous Ranji Trophy season.

Smaran Ravichandran, who scored 950 runs, and Ayush Doseja, who accumulated 949, were among the competition’s leading run-scorers and have been selected. Sanat Sangwan and Sudip Kumar Gharami also feature among the batting options.

The bowling group includes Manav Suthar, Saransh Jain, Anukul Roy, Mukesh Kumar and Mukesh Choudhary. Bengal pacer Akash Deep has also been included subject to fitness.

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Irani Cup 2026: Squads

Jammu and Kashmir: Paras Dogra (c), Kanhaiya Wadhawan (wk) Shubham Khajuria, Shubham Pundir, Yawer Hassan, Abdul Samad, Abid Mushtaq, Umran Malik, Umar Nazir Mir, Qamran Iqbal, Sunil Kumar, Vanshaj Sharma, Lone Nasir Muzaffar, Sahil Lotra, Waseem Bashir, Kawalpreet Singh, Rydham Sharma.

Rest of India: Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Smaran Ravichandran, Sarfaraz Khan, Ayush Doseja, Sanat Sangwan, Saransh Jain, Shikhar Mohan, Manav Suthar, Mukesh Kumar, Mukesh Choudhary, Aryan Pandey, Anukul Roy, Aryan Juyal, Sudip Kumar Gharami.

Irani Cup 2026: Live telecast and streaming

Cricket fans in India will be able to watch the Jammu & Kashmir vs Rest of India Irani Cup match live on the Star Sports Network.

For digital viewers, the five-day contest will be available to stream on JioHotstar through its app and website.

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