The participating teams in the Central Zone of the Ranji Trophy, 1965-66 were the likes of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Vidarbha and Uttar Pradesh and all of them were from the Central India. The teams played against each other for becoming one of the top two teams of the zone and also for securing a birth in the knock out level of the tournament. However, only the teams like Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh could do so and were promoted to the knock out level.
The first of the Central Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1965-66 saw a clash between the teams of Vidarbha and Madhya Pradesh. The match was held at Nagpur from 03-05 December, 1965 and the drawn match saw the Madhya Pradesh team earning 5 points and Vidarbha earning 3 points from it. The next match of the zone involved the teams of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh and the match was held at Jaipur from 05-07 December, 1965. The match was drawn during the stipulated duration and the Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh teams earned 5 and 3 points, respectively for the match.
The Rajasthan team appeared in the third of the Central Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1965-66 also and this time, it played against the Vidarbha team at Jaipur from 10-12 December, 1965. The Rajasthan team played very well in the match and earned 9 points from it, by winning with a huge margin of an innings and 1 run. The next match of the zone saw a clash between the teams of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh and the match as held at Indore from 11-13 December, 1965. The drawn match saw the Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh teams earning 3 points each from it.
The fifth of the Central Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1965-66 was played between the teams of Uttar Pradesh and Vidarbha at Nagpur from 17-19 December, 1965. The match was drawn during the specified period of time and the match officials awarded the Vidarbha and Uttar Pradesh teams 5 and 3 points, respectively for the match. In the last match of the Central Zone, the teams of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan clashed with each other at Jaipur from 18-20 December, 1965. The Rajasthan team played very nicely in the match and clinched a victory of 8 wickets for earning 8 points from it.
