The Ranji Trophy is named for Ranjitsinhji, the first cricketer from India to represent his country internationally. He represented Sussex in county play and played first-class cricket for Cambridge University in England. Above all, he was a well-known test cricketer who represented England and is regarded as one of the greatest batters in history. The competition's trophy, which was established in 1934, was given by Ranjitsinhji personally. The Bombay (now Mumbai) squad won the championship. It had since won the trophy 41 times, with 15 straight victories from the end of the 1950s to the beginning of the 1970s. Mumbai is undoubtedly the side with the most victories in the competition and among the best in the Indian cricket league.

The tournament's structure has changed over the years due to the ever-changing surroundings and the reality that it has been going on for so long. Since the tournament's inception up until the turn of the millennium, the zonal system was used in the initial phase of the trophy because it was fairly simple to manage. The first four zones were the North, South, East, and West zones; the Central zone was introduced for the 1952–1953 season. The first stage was contested as a knockout stage to set up further knockout finals. This was changed to a round-robin stage resulting in a knockout final in the middle of the 1950s.

During the 2002–2003 season, the zonal system was eliminated, and the format was changed to a two-division structure with groups for the Elite and Plate. Since then, several adjustments have been made, the most significant of which was decided for the 2018–2019 season, increasing the number of participating clubs from 29 to 38, making it the largest competition in the Indian Cricket League in regard to the number of matches. The Vijay Hazare Trophy is the only tournament in the Indian cricket league to have played the same number of games. Even though it is a List A cricket competition, it concludes in around one month as opposed to the Ranji Trophy's three months. It is widely regarded as one of the year's most enticing online cricket betting tournaments and is very well-liked by the cricket betting world.

Despite the alteration, the tournament's basic format remained the same: the first round will be played as a round-robin with four groups of two players each: All the teams in Groups A, B, and C have participated in the tournament before, and Group D (Plate group) is made up of all the new clubs that have entered the competition. A total of 8 teams will move to the second round, which will be contested as a knockout format, including 5 teams from groups A and B combined, 2 teams from Group C, and 1 team from Plate Group D.

The competition is categorized as a top "first-class cricket" event, which is the highest grade for cricket matches played over three or more days, whether they are international or domestic. The competition's format involves four groups of nine to ten teams each, where each team competes against the other teams in its group (Round-robin format). The top two teams from each group proceed to the second round, which is a knockout round including matches in the quarterfinals, semifinals, and championship games.

A staggering total of 169 multi-day matches, split into the league stage as well as the knockout stage, make it the main event for online cricket betting. All sports brands typically offer great bonuses, excellent odds, and special offers for this event, which has become a festival for the sports betting community. Cricket betting on the Ranji Trophy is a fun activity. The Irani Cup, a multi-day, one-match, first-class competition that comes after the Ranji trophy, is typically open to the Ranji trophy winner. Unusual in the Indian cricket calendar, this tournament is also intriguing for those who bet on cricket.

A.S. De Mello, the founder of the BCCI, suggested a first-class tournament at the national level. Following the BCCI conference in Shimla in July 1934, the competition of Ranji Trophy was officially created, with the first matches taking place in 1934–1935. The competition's original name was "The Cricket Championship of India," however it was subsequently changed. Bhupinder Singh, the Maharaja of Patiala, gave the trophy in honor of Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji, Jam Sahib of Nawanagar, who had passed away the year before. Madras and Mysore played in the competition's opening game on November 4 at the Chepauk field in Madras (Now Chennai). Mumbai (Bombay) has won the event 41 times, including 15 consecutive victories from 1958–1959 to 1972–1973.

Up to 2001, the teams were divided into the North, West, East, South, and Central zones. In preparation for the 1952–53 season, the center zone was added. Before the 2002–03 season, a two-division structure with the Elite Group, as well as the Plate Group, took the place of the zonal system. Up to 15 teams competed in the Elite Group, while the remaining teams competed in the Plate Group.

Mumbai has ruled the Ranji Trophy historically, taking home the trophy a record 41 times. The other teams haven't been able to win the championship more than ten times. Mumbai also holds the record for the most Ranji Trophy final appearances, with 46. During the 1953–54 season through the 1972–73 season, the record champions went on an unstoppable run during which they won the championship 18 out of 20 times. Only Madras & Baroda were able to end Mumbai's winning streak at this point.

Under the BCCI's title sponsorship agreement, Paytm became the first firm to have the tournament's official sponsorship right in 2015. Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, the 2020–21 Ranji Trophy competition was delayed, making it the first time since the competition's establishment that it was not held.