There were a number of 24 teams participated in the Ranji Trophy, 1981-82 and the teams` list of the tournament saw no change at all. All the teams were the regular participants of the tournament and they took part in the Ranji Trophy, 1981-82, after being divided into five different zones by the BCCI. The tournament saw some huge clashed between the heavyweight teams and there were some extraordinary cricketing performances in the tournament, as well. The teams that played in the tournament included the likes of Andhra, Assam, Baroda, Bengal, Bihar, Bombay, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Hyderabad, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Railways, Rajasthan, Saurashtra, Services, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and the Vidarbha.

Ranji Trophy, 1981-82, Central Zone League Matches: In the Central Zone of the Ranji Trophy, 1981-82, there were a number of 5 teams played against each other with a view to become one of the toppers in the zone. The teams included the likes of Railways, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Vidarbha and Madhya Pradesh and the teams were representing the Central region of India in the tournament. Getting a promotion to the knock out level of the tournament for competing with the top teams of the other zones was also one of the main aims of the teams. The teams like Railways and Uttar Pradesh became successful to achieve this aim and they entered into the knock out level after earning total points of 27 and 22, respectively, in the group level.

Ranji Trophy, 1981-82, East Zone League Matches: All the 4 teams that had been participating in the tournament for the previous several editions on a regular basis were present there in the East Zone of the Ranji Trophy, 1981-82. The teams like Bengal, Orissa, Assam and Bihar were representing different states from the Eastern region of India and they tried their best to claim the top spot in the zone. However, with 18 and 15 points, respectively, the Bihar and Bengal teams became the toppers in the East Zone and they also got a promotion to the knock out level of the tournament. They competed against the top teams of the other zones in the knock out level, for the championship title.

Ranji Trophy, 1981-82, North Zone League Matches: The North Zone of the Ranji Trophy, 1981-82 was comprised of a number of 5 teams, all coming from the Northern region of India. The teams were taking part in the tournament on a regular basis for the previous few editions and they included the likes of Services, Haryana, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir and Delhi. They played against each other in the zonal league matches for becoming one of the top two teams in the zone and also for getting a chance to get into the knock out level of the tournament. However, the teams like Punjab and Delhi became successful to do so from the zone, as they earned 24 and 23 points, respectively after the completion of the zonal league matches.

Ranji Trophy, 1981-82, South Zone League Matches: There were a number of 5 teams played against each other under the South Zone of the Ranji Trophy, 1981-82 and the teams included the likes of Tamil Nadu, Hyderabad, Kerala, Andhra and Karnataka. The teams were coming from the Southern region of India and they were also the regular participants in the tournament. The teams clashed with each other with a view to become one of the top two teams in the zone and also to get a chance in the knock out level of the tournament. The teams like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka eventually became the toppers in the zone, as they earned total 27 and 26 points, respectively, after the completion of the zonal level league matches.

Ranji Trophy, 1981-82, West Zone League Matches: The West Zone of the Ranji Trophy, 1981-82 was comprised of a number of 5 teams including the likes of Baroda, Bombay, Saurashtra, Gujarat and Maharashtra. All the regular participants of the tournament were representing the Western region of India in the tournament and they tried their best to clinch the top spot of the zone. The main reason behind their this endeavour was to get a chance in the knock out level of the tournament, where the top two teams from all the zones competed against each other for the championship title. However, only the teams like Bombay and Saurashtra became successful to enter into the knock out level of the tournament from the West Zone. The Bombay team earned a total of 27 points and Saurashtra earned 22 points, after the zonal level league matches were completed.

Ranji Trophy, 1981-82, Knock out Matches: The top two teams from each and every zone in the tournament were promoted to the knock out level of the Ranji Trophy, 1981-82. The ten teams that participated in the knock out matches of the Ranji Trophy, 1981-82 included the likes of Bengal, Bihar, Bombay, Railways, Saurashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Punjab and Delhi. The teams fought with each other in the knock out matches very hard for claiming the championship title. They played in the Pre-Quarter-Finals, Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals and Final match of the tournament, however, the Delhi team once again won the trophy by beating the Karnataka team in the Final.