The Ranji Trophy, 1985-86 saw the participation of a large number 26 teams that were coming from all the parts of India. The Tripura and Goa teams were the new entrants in the tournament and all the other 24 regular teams were also present there in the 52nd edition of the tournament. The teams were divided into five different zones and they competed against each other in the zonal level first. After that, the top two teams from each zone got the chance to compete in the knock out level of the tournament, for the coveted championship title. The participating teams in the Ranji Trophy, 1984-85 included the likes of Andhra, Assam, Baroda, Bengal, Bihar, Bombay, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Hyderabad, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Railways, Rajasthan, Saurashtra, Services, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and the Vidarbha.

Ranji Trophy, 1985-86 Central Zone League Matches: The Central Zone of the Ranji Trophy, 1985-86 was comprised of 5 teams that had been playing in the tournament for years. The teams were coming from the Central region of India and they included the likes of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Vidarbha and Railways. The teams competed with each other in the zonal level league matches first, with a view of becoming one of the two top teams in the zone. Besides, getting a promotion into the knock out level of the tournament was also another aim of the teams. The Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan teams eventually became the toppers in the zone, as they earned 70 and 67 points, respectively from the league matches. They were also the representatives of the Central Zone in the knock out level of the tournament.

Ranji Trophy, 1985-86 East Zone League Matches: There were a number of 5 teams competed against each other under the East Zone of the Ranji Trophy, 1985-86. The new team in the zone was the Tripura team and all the other 4 regular teams like Bengal, Assam, Bihar and Orissa were also playing in the tournament. All the teams were representing different states from the Eastern region of India and they tried their best to become one of the top two teams in the zone. The teams also tried hard for securing a birth in the knock out level of the tournament, however, only the teams like Bihar and Bengal could do so from the zone. The Bihar team earned 101 points and Bengal earned 73 points, at the end of the zonal level league matches.

Ranji Trophy, 1985-86 North Zone League Matches: The North Zone of the Ranji Trophy, 1985-86 was comprised of 6 teams, including the new team in the zone, the Himachal Pradesh. Apart from the Himachal Pradesh team, all the other 5 regular teams in the zone were also present there in the tournament. The team list of the North Zone included the likes of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Services and Himachal Pradesh and all of them were coming from the Northern region of India. The teams played against each other in the zonal level league matches for becoming one of the top two teams in the zone and also for securing a birth in the knock out level of the tournament. However, the teams like Delhi and Haryana eventually became successful to do so from the zone, as they earned total of 100 and 98 points, respectively from the zonal level league matches.

Ranji Trophy, 1985-86 South Zone League Matches: The South Zone in the Ranji Trophy, 1985-86 saw the entry of the new team Goa in it and this entry increased the number of participating teams in the zone to 6, from that of 5 in the previous editions. All the other 5 teams that had been playing in the tournament for the previous several years were also present there in the tournament. The team list of the zone included the likes of Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Hyderabad and Goa and all the teams were coming from the Southern region of India. All the teams tried their best to get a chance for playing into the knock out level of the tournament, by becoming one of the top two teams in the zone. However, the teams like Andhra and Tamil Nadu became the toppers in the zone with total points of 86 and 82, respectively, and they also entered into the knock out level of the tournament.

Ranji Trophy, 1985-86 West Zone League Matches: There were a number of 5 teams played against each other under the West Zone in the Ranji Trophy, 1985-86 and all the teams were the regular participants in the tournament. Most of the teams were representing different states from the Western region of India and they included the likes of Maharashtra, Saurashtra, Baroda, Gujarat and Bombay. All the teams gave their best efforts for claiming the top spot in the zone and securing a birth in the knock out level of the tournament was also another principal aim of the teams. The teams like Maharashtra and Bombay eventually became successful to achieve this aim, as they became the toppers in the zone. The Maharashtra team earned 69 points and Bombay earned 56 points, at the end of the zonal level league matches.

Ranji Trophy, 1985-86 Knock out Matches: The knock out level of the Ranji Trophy, 1985-86 saw the participation from a number of 10 teams that included all the top teams from each and every zone. The teams that played against each other in the knock out matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1985-86 included the likes of Maharashtra, Bombay, Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Andhra. The teams fought very hard in the Pre-Quarter-Finals, Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals and Final of the tournament with the sole objective of winning the championship title. However, the Delhi team eventually became successful to win the title, once again.