Twenty Seven teams participated in the Ranji Trophy, 1987-88 and the teams were selected from different parts of India, by the tournament organisers, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The BCCI also divided the teams into five different zones, namely the Central Zone, East Zone, North Zone, South Zone and West Zone and the teams were mainly representing different Indian states in the tournament. The teams included the likes of Andhra, Assam, Baroda, Bengal, Bihar, Bombay, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Hyderabad, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Railways, Rajasthan, Saurashtra, Services, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and the Vidarbha.

Ranji Trophy 1987-88, Central Zone League Matches: The 5 regular teams that played under the Central Zone in the Ranji Trophy, 1987-88 included the likes of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha and Railways. Most of the teams were representing various states from the Central region of India and they played against each other in the zonal level league matches with the aim of claiming the top spot in the zone. Securing a birth in the knock out level of the tournament was also one of the principal objectives of the teams, however, the zone saw only the Railways and Uttar Pradesh teams to become successful to do so. The Railways team earned a total of 53 points and Uttar Pradesh team earned 51 points, at the end of the zonal level league matches.

Ranji Trophy 1987-88, East Zone League Matches: In the East Zone of the Ranji Trophy, 1987-88, 5 teams played against each other, all the regular participants in the tournament. All the teams were representing different states from the Eastern region of India and they included the likes of Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Tripura and Orissa. The teams competed with each other first in the zonal level league matches with a view to become one of the top two teams in the zone and then, the top two teams entered into the knock out level of the tournament. The teams like Bihar and Bengal became the toppers in the zone, with total of 66 and 60 points, respectively and they fought with the top teams from the other zones in the knock out level, for the coveted championship title.

Ranji Trophy 1987-88, North Zone League Matches: The North Zone in the Ranji Trophy, 1987-88 was comprised of 6 teams, all coming from the Northern region of India. All the teams had been participating in the tournament on a regular basis for the previous few years and they included the likes of Jammu & Kashmir, Services, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. The teams gave their best efforts for claiming the top spot in the zone by beating all the other teams in the zone and they also tried hard for securing a birth in the knock out level of the tournament. However, only the teams like Delhi and Punjab could eventually do so from the zone, as they earned total of 83 and 69 points, respectively from the zonal level league matches.

Ranji Trophy 1987-88, South Zone League Matches: There were 6 teams played against each other under the South Zone in the Ranji Trophy, 1987-88 and all the teams were representing various states from the Southern region of India. The teams were also the regular participants in the tournament and they included the likes of Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Hyderabad and Karnataka. The teams fought with each other very hard for becoming one of the top two teams in the zone and they also gave their best efforts for getting a chance into the knock out level of the tournament. The teams like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka eventually became successful to enter into the knock out level of the tournament, as they became the leaders in the zone with total of 79 and 75 points, respectively.

Ranji Trophy 1987-88, West Zone League Matches: The West Zone of the Ranji Trophy, 1987-88 saw the participation of 5 teams including the likes of Gujarat, Saurashtra, Bombay, Maharashtra and Baroda. Most of the teams were representing different states from the Western region of India and they had also been participating in the tournament on a regular basis for the previous several editions. Though, all the teams tried their best to claim the top spot in the zone and they also tried hard for securing a birth in the knock out level of the tournament, only the teams like Baroda and Bombay could eventually do so from the zone. The Baroda team earned a total of 53 points and Bombay earned 46 points, at the end of the zonal level league matches.

Ranji Trophy 1987-88, Knock out Matches: Ten teams played against each other in the knock out level of the Ranji Trophy, 1987-88 and the teams were mainly the top two teams from each and every zones of the tournament. The BCCI selected the teams on the basis of their total earned points at the end of the zonal level league matches and the teams included the likes of Bengal, Baroda, Bombay, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Railways and Delhi. The teams competed with each other in the knock out matches of the Ranji Trophy, 1987-88, such as the Pre-Quarter-Finals, Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals and Final, with the same view of winning the prestigious Ranji Trophy title. However, the Tamil Nadu team eventually became successful to win the title by beating the Railways team in the Final of the tournament.