At the start of every Ranji Trophy season, the teams placed in Group C are the most hopeful. A good performance not only earns them a chance to play in the knockout stages, it also gives them promotion to the superior group - a chance to battle with better teams.

Haryana and Andhra, after finishing last in Group A and Group B respectively in the last season, have been relegated to Group C while Saurashtra and Jharkhand have found a spot in Group B after topping the group.