The number of participating teams in the Ranji Trophy, 1995-96 was decreased a bit in comparison to the past matches, as the tournament saw 26 teams playing against each other. The tournament is well known to be the most popular and leading domestic cricket tournament in India and the organisers of the tournament, the BCCI divided the teams into five different zones. The zones were formed depending on their geographical positions and they were named as the Central Zone, East Zone, North Zone, South Zone and West Zone. The teams played against one another first in the zonal level league matches and then the top three teams from every zone entered into the knock out level of the tournament. The participating teams in the tournament included the likes of Andhra, Assam, Baroda, Bengal, Bihar, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Hyderabad, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Railways, Rajasthan, Saurashtra, Services, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and the Vidarbha.

Ranji Trophy, 1994-95, Central Zone League Matches: The Central Zone of the Ranji Trophy, 1995-96 had 5 teams. The tournament is considered to be the premium domestic cricket tournament in India and the Central zone teams were mainly representing different states from the Central region of India, in the tournament. The teams included the likes of Madhya Pradesh, Railways, Vidarbha, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan and they competed with each other very hard for claiming the top spots in the zone. The main objective of all the teams were to become one of the top three teams in the zone so that they could enter into the knock out level of the tournament, for vying for the championship title. However, the teams like Madhya Pradesh, Railways and Vidarbha eventually got into the knock out level with total of 16, 8 and 6 points, respectively from the zonal level league matches.

Ranji Trophy, 1994-95, East Zone League Matches: The East Zone of the Ranji Trophy, 1995-96 saw the participation of 5 teams, all the regular participants of the tournament. The Ranji Trophy has earned a lot of recognition and fame for being the premium domestic cricket tournament in India. All the teams were representing various states from the Eastern region of India and they included the likes of Tripura, Orissa, Assam, Bengal and Bihar. All the teams played against each other with the same objective of becoming one of the top three teams in the zone. Getting a chance to compete in the knock out level of the tournament was also another principal objective of the teams. However, only the teams like Orissa, Bengal and Assam could eventually became successful to enter into the knock out level from the East Zone. The Orissa, Bengal and Assam teams earned total of 20, 18 and 8 points, respectively from the zonal level league matches.

Ranji Trophy, 1994-95, North Zone League Matches: All the 6 regular teams that were participating under the North Zone in the tournament played against each other in the Ranji Trophy, 1995-96 also. The tournament is well known to be the premium domestic cricket tournament in India and the North Zone teams were mainly coming from the Northern region of India. The teams included the likes of Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Services and Punjab. The teams competed with each other very hard for becoming one of the top three teams in the zone and also for entering into the knock out level of the tournament. However, the teams like Delhi, Punjab and Haryana eventually became successful to do so from the zone, as they earned total of 18, 16 and 10 points, respectively from the zonal level league matches.

Ranji Trophy, 1994-95, South Zone League Matches: The South Zone of the Ranji Trophy, 1995-96, is one of the most popular domestic cricket tournaments in India, teamed with 6 teams, all coming from the Southern region of India. All the teams had been playing in the tournament on a regular basis and they included the likes of Goa, Kerala, Hyderabad, Karnataka, Andhra and Tamil Nadu. All the teams tried their best to become one of the top three teams in the zone and they also gave their best efforts for securing a birth in the knock out level of the Ranji Trophy, 1995-96. The zone saw the teams of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Hyderabad eventually becoming successful to get into the knock out level and competing with the top teams of the other zones for the championship title. The Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Hyderabad teams earned total of 26, 16 and 12 points, respectively, at the end of the zonal level league matches.

Ranji Trophy, 1994-95, West Zone League Matches: There were 5 teams that played against each other under the West Zone in the Ranji Trophy, 1995-96, the premium domestic cricket tournament in India. All the teams were the regular participants in the tournament and most of them were mainly representing different states from the Western region of India. The teams included the likes of Maharashtra, Bombay, Gujarat, Baroda and Saurashtra and the sole objective of all the teams was to claim the top spot in the West Zone. The teams also tried their best to secure a birth in the knock out level of the Ranji Trophy, 1995-96, however, only the Bombay, Baroda and Maharashtra teams could do so from the zone. The Bombay team earned total 16 points, Baroda earned 6 points and the Maharashtra team earned 3 points, at the end of the zonal level league matches.

Ranji Trophy, 1994-95, Knock out Matches: After the completion of the zonal level league matches, the top 15 teams from all the zones got the permission of the tournament organisers to play and compete for the championship title in the knock out level of Ranji Trophy, 1995-96. The teams comprised of the top three teams from each zone and they played against each other in the knock out matches of the Ranji Trophy, 1995-96, with a view to win the coveted championship title. The teams included the likes of Railways, Orissa, Karnataka, Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Hyderabad, Assam, Delhi, Maharashtra, Vidarbha, Haryana, Punjab, Baroda and Bombay. The teams took part in the Pre-Quarter-Finals, Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals and Final match of the tournament. Though all the teams tried their best to win the title, it was the Karnataka team that eventually became successful to win the prestigious championship title.