Secunderabad’s Gymkhana refurbished to host Ranji Trophy matches in 2026-27
Hyderabad and Tripura will be the first teams to play on the refurbished Gymkhana in Secunderabad during the Ranji Trophy 2026-27 season, following a renovation completed after roughly four months of work and expenditure close to one crore, the refurbishment report said on October 11, 2026.
Cricket has been staged on the Gymkhana ground for more than 150 years, dating back to when British army personnel used the site in the 19th century; it held its first First Class match in 1931 and hosted the MCC three years later as the first official overseas side to play in Hyderabad. The venue has also been used for tournaments such as the Women’s World Cup and the Irani Cup, and with the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium due for renovation, Gymkhana will take on all of Hyderabad’s Ranji matches in the 2026-27 season.
HCA secretary M. Jeevan Reddy provided a direct assessment of the ground: “Gymkhana has produced a lot of cricketers for India and is the birthplace of cricket in Hyderabad. After taking charge, I went and saw Gymkhana, and it was not the same ground that I knew,” he told The Hindu. Soon after Ambati Rayudu became HCA’s head of cricket operations, he committed to altering surfaces so that batters and bowlers gained a more even share from the pitches and to preparing wickets that would produce results.
The overhaul involved working on nine pitches over about four months at a cost approaching one crore; the set includes four black-soil tracks, three red-soil tracks and two with a 50-50 mix, all materials sourced from Vikarabad. The refurbishment was carried out under the supervision of D. Mukesh Kumar, HCA’s senior curator, who oversaw the reconditioning and relaying of the square.
Head coaches have reported positive first impressions ahead of competitive play: Anirudh Singh, coach of Hyderabad, and Satrajit Lahiri, coach of Tripura, expressed satisfaction with the surfaces during early inspections, and both sides will be the first to trial the pitches in match conditions. The timing of these fixtures will coincide with Hyderabad’s use of Gymkhana for its full slate of Ranji Trophy home matches in 2026-27.
Support facilities were also modified during the project: the 30-yard circle has been rebuilt to reduce strain on players, and the ground’s drainage system was reworked. The improved drainage contributed to the square boundary increasing by around six yards, altering the playing dimensions available to captains and groundsmen.
With the renovation complete, Gymkhana will serve as Hyderabad’s primary Ranji venue for the 2026-27 season, and the opening fixtures between Hyderabad and Tripura will be the first official matches played on the refurbished ground.