'Love for Red Cherry': UK banker's 7700 km pilgrimage to Ranji Final

While the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 dazzles fans across India and Sri Lanka, a 53-year-old London-based banker has quietly undertaken a very different kind of cricketing pilgrimage -- a 7,700 km journey to Hubballi to watch the Ranji Trophy final. Paul Garwood, a banker from Suffolk, chose India's premier red-ball domestic tournament over the global white-ball showpiece, underscoring the enduring charm of long-format cricket.

Garwood had not even heard of Hubballi until last week. When he realised the city in north Karnataka was a potential venue for the Ranji Trophy title clash between eight-time champions Karnataka and first-time finalists Jammu & Kashmir, he immediately began planning his trip. He looked up the town on a map, studied its geography, applied for an Indian visa and booked his flights to align perfectly with the five-day final at the KSCA Hubballi grounds.

A final worth crossing continents for

This season's Ranji Trophy final carries high stakes and rich narratives. Karnataka, one of the competition's traditional powerhouses, are chasing a ninth title and their first since 2015, while Jammu & Kashmir have reached the summit clash for the first time since making their debut in the 1959-60 season.

The match, scheduled to begin on February 24 in Hubballi, has already drawn attention for pitting seasoned domestic giants against history-making underdogs.

The venue itself adds to the sense of occasion. Originally expected to be held at Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy Stadium, the final was shifted to Hubballi after the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) and the BCCI decided to fast-track safety upgrades at the iconic ground.

KSCA officials said the move was also part of a larger push to promote top-tier cricket in Karnataka's tier-2 centres, making Hubballi the unlikely stage for one of Indian domestic cricket's biggest fixtures.

Red ball over white ball

Garwood's decision is striking given the calendar clash with the T20 World Cup, being played at marquee venues such as Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium and Kolkata’s Eden Gardens.

He had initially positioned himself to be free from work to possibly attend World Cup matches, but when the dates did not align, he turned to the Ranji schedule instead and began following the knockouts closely from England.

By his own admission, the pull of red-ball cricket was always likely to prevail. Garwood said he would happily trade a single 40-over contest for "three or four days of solid cricket", emphasising his preference for the rhythms, ebb and flow, and tactical depth of the first-class game.

A club-level spinner who plays for Mistley Cricket Club, he has long admired Indian Test greats such as Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath, and sees the Ranji Trophy as the cradle that nurtures such talent.

Discovering Hubballi and Indian domestic culture

Once Karnataka and Jammu & Kashmir booked their places in the final, Garwood waited to see which city would host the match. Expecting Bengaluru at first, he was intrigued when the KSCA confirmed Hubballi as the venue and jokingly remarked that the name sounded like something out of a "Willy Wonka film". The unfamiliarity became part of the attraction; he decided it would be "fun" to travel further south than he had ever been in India.

Garwood is no stranger to the country's cricketing landscape. Over the past three to four years, he has planned trips around domestic and international fixtures, watching matches in venues such as Indore and Dharamshala and combining stadium visits with food and local culture. A self-confessed devotee of Indian cuisine, with a particular fondness for south Indian fare, he describes his journeys as a blend of cricket tourism and cultural exploration, with Hubballi now the latest stop on that personal map.

Even in a cricket-mad nation, overseas fans at Ranji Trophy matches remain a rarity, let alone at a neutral venue final. Garwood joked that he was "probably the only person in England following the Ranji Trophy semifinals," but his presence in the stands in Hubballi has resonated far beyond the boundary rope.