All the 27 teams that had been participating in the tournament for the previous several editions took part in the Ranji Trophy, 2000-01. The teams played after being divided into five different zones. The organisers of the premium domestic cricket tournament in India, the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) named the zones as the Central Zone, East Zone, North Zone, South Zone and West Zone. The tournament organisers, BCCI went back to the old format of the tournament in this edition and omitted the Super League stage of the tournament. As a result, the participating teams of the tournament first played in the zonal level league matches and then the top three teams from each zone played in the knock out level of the Ranji Trophy for the championship title. The teams that took part in the Ranji Trophy, 2000-01 included the likes of Andhra, Assam, Baroda, Bengal, Bihar, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Hyderabad, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mumbai, Orissa, Punjab, Railways, Rajasthan, Saurashtra, Services, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and the Vidarbha.

Ranji Trophy 2000-01, Central Zone League Matches: 5 teams played against each other in the Central Zone of the Ranji Trophy, 2000-01 and all the teams were the regular participants of the tournament. The teams were mainly representing different states from the Central region of India in the most popular domestic cricket tournament in India. The teams included the likes of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Railways, Vidarbha and Uttar Pradesh and they tried their best to clinch the top spot in the zone. The teams also gave their best efforts for securing a berth in the knock out level of the tournament, however, only the teams like Rajasthan, Railways and Madhya Pradesh could eventually do so from the zone. The Rajasthan, Railways and Madhya Pradesh teams earned the highest of 23, 21 and 19 points, respectively from the zonal level league matches.

Ranji Trophy 2000-01, East Zone League Matches: The East Zone of the Ranji Trophy, 2000-01 saw the participation of all the 5 regular teams that were playing in the tournament for the previous several editions. Mainly representing different states from the Eastern region of India, the teams showed some good cricketing performances in the most popular and fruitful domestic cricket tournament of India. The East Zone teams included the likes of Bengal, Tripura, Assam, Bihar and Orissa and they played against each other with the same objective of becoming one of the top three teams in the zone. The teams also tried their best for securing a berth in the knock out level of the tournament. The teams like Orissa, Assam and Bengal were the successful teams of the East Zone that eventually entered into the Super League stage of the Ranji Trophy, 2000-01. The teams earned the highest points from the zonal level league matches. The total earnings of the Orissa, Assam and Bengal were 29, 19 and 18 points, respectively, at the end of the zonal level league matches.

Ranji Trophy 2000-01, North Zone League Matches: In the North Zone of the Ranji Trophy, 2000-01, 6 teams competed with each other and displayed their cricketing skills and performances for advancing to the next level of the tournament. All the teams were the regular participants of the premium domestic cricket tournament in India and most of them were representing different states from the Northern region of India. The teams included the likes of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Services, Jammu & Kashmir, Delhi and Haryana and all of them tried their best to claim one of the top spots in the zone. The teams also gave their best efforts for to get a promotion to the knock out level of the Ranji Trophy, 2000-01. However, only the teams like Punjab, Delhi and Jammu & Kashmir could eventually do so from the North Zone, as they earned the highest total of 40, 29 and 24 points, respectively from the zonal level league matches.

Ranji Trophy 2000-01, South Zone League Matches: 6 teams participated under the South Zone of the Ranji Trophy, 2000-01, all the regular ones mainly coming from the Southern region of India. The teams were representing different states from the Southern region of India in the most popular and top class domestic cricket tournament in India. The participating teams included the likes of Tamil Nadu, Goa, Andhra, Kerala, Karnataka and Hyderabad and they played against each other for claiming the top spot in the zone. Securing a berth in the knock out level of the Ranji Trophy, 2000-01 was also another principal objective of all the teams. Only the teams like Tamil Nadu, Hyderabad and Karnataka could fulfill this objective from the South Zone, as they earned the highest points. The Tamil Nadu, Hyderabad and Karnataka teams earned total of 26, 25 and 24 points, respectively from the zonal level league matches.

Ranji Trophy 2000-01, West Zone League Matches: The West Zone of the Ranji Trophy, 2000-01 consisted of all the 5 teams that had been participating in the tournament on a regular basis for the previous several editions. Most of the teams were representing different states from the Western region of India in the premium domestic cricket tournament in India and the teams included the likes of Maharashtra, Saurashtra, Gujarat, Baroda and Mumbai. They competed with each other with a view to become one of the top three teams in the zone so that they could get a chance for competing in the knock out level of the tournament. Though all the teams tried their best, only the teams like Mumbai, Maharashtra and Baroda eventually became successful to do so from the West Zone. The Mumbai, Maharashtra and Baroda teams earned total of 21, 20 and 19 points, respectively from the zonal level league matches for getting an entry into the Super League stage.

Ranji Trophy 2000-01, Knock out Matches: There was no Super League stage in the Ranji Trophy, 2000-01 and the organisers of the premium domestic cricket tournament in India, BCCI decided to go back to the old format for the tournament. As a result, the top three teams from each of the zones got promotion to the knock out level of the tournament and they competed with each other for the championship title in the knock out level. The teams that entered into the knock out level of the tournament included the likes of Assam, Karnataka, Baroda, Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Hyderabad, Maharashtra, Railways, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Orissa, Jammu & Kashmir and Mumbai. The teams played against each other in the knock out matches of the Ranji Trophy, 2000-01, like the Pre-Quarter-Finals, Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals and Final of the tournament. Though, all the teams tried their best to become the champion, it was the Baroda team that eventually became successful to clinch the coveted championship title.