The Services cricket team plays in the Ranji Trophy, the main domestic first-class cricket competition in India. Under the auspices of the Services Sports Control Board, they represent the Indian Armed Forces. Their home ground is the Palam A Stadium, Palam Air Force Base, New Delhi.
Records The Services team first played in the Ranji Trophy in 1949–50. They played in the North Zone of the competition until 2001–02, and have played in the Plate Group and other lower-ranked groups since 2002–03, except for one season, where they played in the Elite Group, during 2005–06. Their strongest period was the 1950s: between 1950–51 and 1959–60 they reached the semi-finals six times and the final twice, losing to Bombay in 1956–57 by an innings, and to Baroda in 1957–58, also by an innings.
As of March 2026, Services had played 379 first-class matches, with 102 wins, 131 losses, and 146 draws; 33 of their victories have been over Jammu and Kashmir. Their highest first-class score is 250 not out by Yashpal Singh against Tripura in 2012–13. The best bowling figures are 8 for 27 by Amit Shukla against Haryana in 2025–26.
Services reached the semi-finals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy for the first time in the 2021–22 season. Their best finish in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy was in the 2019–20 season, where they finished third in their group with 4 wins and 2 losses.
Services set the world record for the highest successful run chase in first-class cricket without losing a wicket when they chased 376 runs against Odisha in the group stage in the 2024–25 Ranji Trophy. It was also the second-highest successful fourth-innings run-chase in the history of the Ranji Trophy.
Honours Ranji Trophy Runners-up (2): 1956–57, 1957–58
Notable players Services players who have played Test cricket for India, along with year of Test debut:
Hemu Adhikari (1947) Kanwar Rai Singh (1947) (primarily played for Southern Punjab) Bal Dani (1952) Chandrasekhar Gadkari (1953) Narain Swamy (1955) Surendra Nath (1958) Apoorva Sengupta (1959) V. M. Muddiah (1959)
Current squad Name Birth date Birthplace Batting style Bowling style Notes Batsmen Rajat Paliwal Sonepat, HR Right-handed Right-arm off-break First-class & List A Captain Ravi Chauhan New Delhi, DL Right-handed Right-arm leg-break Irfan Ali Right-handed Right-arm off-break Vineet Dhankhar Right-handed Right-arm leg break Shivam Kumar Right-handed Gaurav Kochar Delhi, DL Left-handed Right-arm off-break Sagar Dahiya Sonipat, HR Right-handed Right-arm off-break Vikas Hathwala Delhi, DL Left-handed Left-arm medium Harsh Vardhan Bikaner, RJ Right-handed Right-arm medium All-Rounders Arjun Sharma Jalandhar, PB Left-handed Slow left-arm orthodox Nitin Tanwar Delhi, DL Right-handed Right-arm off break Abhishek Tiwari Allahabad, UP Right-handed Right-arm medium Wicket-keepers Nakul Sharma Delhi, DL Right-handed Mohit Ahlawat Delhi, DL Right-handed Twenty20 Captain Spin Bowlers Pulkit Narang New Delhi, DL Right-handed Right-arm off break Amit Shukla Faizabad, UP Right-handed Slow left-arm orthodox Vikas Yadav Bharuch, GJ Right-handed Slow left-arm orthodox Mohit Rathee Rohtak, HR Right-handed Right-arm leg break Pace Bowlers Jayant Goyat Right-handed Right-arm medium Mohit Jangra Lokhimpur, AS Left-handed Left-arm medium Amarjeet Singh Olapur Gangour, BR Right-handed Right-arm medium Poonam Poonia Sri Ganganagar, RJ Right-handed Right-arm medium Nitin Yadav Delhi, DL Right-handed Right-arm medium Raj Bahadur Allahabad, UP Left-handed Left-arm medium Vishal Gaur Meerut, UP Left-handed Left-arm medium
Updated as on 1 February 2026
References
External links First-class matches played by Services