diff --git a/datafusion/core/benches/sql_planner.rs b/datafusion/core/benches/sql_planner.rs
index de81ed021b427..48770541ca9b6 100644
--- a/datafusion/core/benches/sql_planner.rs
+++ b/datafusion/core/benches/sql_planner.rs
@@ -85,6 +85,55 @@ fn physical_plan(ctx: &SessionContext, rt: &Runtime, sql: &str) {
     }));
 }
 
+/// Read the `q{N}.sql` query files from `dir`, in ascending numeric order.
+///
+/// The files are discovered by listing the directory rather than by walking a
+/// hardcoded range, so newly added queries are picked up without changing this
+/// code. Entries that do not match `q{N}.sql` (such as the `sorted_data`
+/// directory alongside the ClickBench queries) are ignored.
+///
+/// Panics if `dir` contains no queries, or if the numbering is not contiguous
+/// starting at `q0.sql`. A gap almost certainly means a query file was lost, and
+/// silently benchmarking a subset would hide that.
+fn read_numbered_queries(dir: &str) -> Vec<String> {
+    let entries = std::fs::read_dir(dir)
+        .unwrap_or_else(|e| panic!("Failed to read query directory '{dir}': {e}"));
+
+    let mut numbers = entries
+        .map(|entry| {
+            entry.unwrap_or_else(|e| panic!("Failed to read entry in '{dir}': {e}"))
+        })
+        .filter_map(|entry| {
+            let file_name = entry.file_name();
+            let stem = file_name
+                .to_str()?
+                .strip_prefix('q')?
+                .strip_suffix(".sql")?;
+            stem.parse::<usize>().ok()
+        })
+        .collect::<Vec<_>>();
+    numbers.sort_unstable();
+
+    assert!(
+        !numbers.is_empty(),
+        "No `q{{N}}.sql` query files found in '{dir}'"
+    );
+    assert_eq!(
+        numbers,
+        (0..numbers.len()).collect::<Vec<_>>(),
+        "Query files in '{dir}' are not numbered contiguously from q0.sql"
+    );
+
+    numbers
+        .into_iter()
+        .map(|q| {
+            let path = format!("{dir}q{q}.sql");
+            std::fs::read_to_string(&path)
+                .unwrap_or_else(|e| panic!("Failed to read query file '{path}': {e}"))
+        })
+        .collect()
+}
+
 /// Create schema with the specified number of columns
 fn create_schema(column_prefix: &str, num_columns: usize) -> Schema {
     let fields: Fields = (0..num_columns)
@@ -636,20 +685,13 @@ fn criterion_benchmark(c: &mut Criterion) {
     // });
 
     // -- clickbench --
-    let clickbench_queries = (0..=42)
-        .map(|q| {
-            std::fs::read_to_string(format!(
-                "{benchmarks_path}queries/clickbench/queries/q{q}.sql"
-            ))
-            .unwrap()
-        })
-        .chain((0..=7).map(|q| {
-            std::fs::read_to_string(format!(
-                "{benchmarks_path}queries/clickbench/extended/q{q}.sql"
-            ))
-            .unwrap()
-        }))
-        .collect::<Vec<_>>();
+    let clickbench_queries =
+        read_numbered_queries(&format!("{benchmarks_path}queries/clickbench/queries/"))
+            .into_iter()
+            .chain(read_numbered_queries(&format!(
+                "{benchmarks_path}queries/clickbench/extended/"
+            )))
+            .collect::<Vec<_>>();
 
     let clickbench_ctx = register_clickbench_hits_table(&rt);