A Spike In Crowd Anticipated As Rohit Sharma And Co. To Feature In Ranji Trophy
Fresh from a break after their recent tour to Australia, India’s marquee players such as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are set to feature wearing their respective Ranji Trophy kits. Will Rohit Sharma And Yashasvi Jaiswal Open The Batting Together? Mumbai’s game against Jammu & Kashmir at the BKC Ground will garner plenty of attention, especially with Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal possibly opening together. With Mumbai in the hunt for a top-two finish in Group A, their lineup also features Shreyas Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane, Shardul Thakur and Shivam Dube. However, without Sarfaraz Khan, owing to a rib injury, Mumbai face a dilemma in managing to accommodate an in-form opener like Ayush Mhatre in his debut first-class season. Is Virat Kohli Set To Make A Ranji Return? Recovering from neck spasm aside, Virat Kohli will not feature in the next round of Ranji Trophy. He should be back for the final round from January 30, though-when Delhi entertains Railways. Kohli will now have only four days to switch gears from first-class cricket to the Indian ODI squad for this crunch series with England, where much is at stake as it will be the last ODI outing before Champions Trophy. How Much A Difference Will Rishabh Pant Make For Delhi? Despite Virat Kohli’s possible return, Delhi will have Rishabh Pant for their crucial match against Saurashtra starting January 23, 2025 in Rajkot. Pant will be playing his first Ranji game since December 2017, however, won’t be leading the side. Ayush Badoni will captain the team instead, with Pant focusing on his role in the team. The game is pivotal for both Delhi and Saurashtra, as both teams need a win to stay in the knockout race. How Good Will Shubman Gill Be For Punjab? Shubman Gill will come back to the domestic circuit, playing for Punjab, against Karnataka, at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. The Indian batting may just be done watching Gill at a tour that started rather torturous against Australia; after averaging 18.60 in five innings, the opener would seek a good form restoration ahead of Ranji Trophy. However, their bench is enriched by Gill’s comeback. Their three men left for the India’s T20I squad of England tour will not play Abhishek Sharma and Arshdeep Singh. Karnataka, fresh off winning the Vijay Hazare Trophy, will see Prasidh Krishna and Devdutt Padikkal return to their XI. Which Injuries Are Affecting Key Players In The Ranji Trophy? Bengal will lack two important players as injuries have been carried out on Akash Deep and Abhimanyu Easwaran. Akash Deep is ruled out from the game because of the back issue, while finger fracture sidelines Easwaran for approximately three weeks. Mohammed Siraj will also not be a part of Hyderabad’s team due to workload management as he played all five test matches in Australia. Who Are The Emerging Players To Watch In The Ranji Trophy? One of the players to keep an eye on will be Karun Nair, fresh off a great Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign with five centuries and 772 runs and with Vidarbha all but confirmed for the Ranji knockouts, he has a few more chances to make his case for a spot in India’s Test middle-order ahead of the focus on the England tour. Which Indian star do you think is set to make a strong comeback in the second leg of Ranji Trophy? The Sportz Planet Desk,Atharva Shetye
IPL 2025: Gujarat Titans Likely To Retain Five Core Players
Gujarat Titans (GT) are expected to retain five players going into the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction. Players expected to be retained from the side include Shubman Gill, Rashid Khan, B Sai Sudharsan, Rahul Tewatia and Shahrukh Khan. This will give them only one right-to-match card option for the IPL 2025 auction. Budget Impact For Gujarat Titans Under the IPL rules, each franchise is allowed to retain as many as six players ahead of the 2025 auction, with the maximum allowed being five capped internationals and two uncapped. Retaining three capped players and two uncapped players will cost GT at least INR 51 crore from their INR 120 crore budget, though amounts for each of their contracts remain undisclosed. The minimum the IPL retain will be of INR 18 crore to the first, INR 14 to the second and INR 11 for the third; the minimum to the fourth will also be INR 18, and for the fifth, it’s INR 14. The value will be at INR 4 crore for the uncapped one, but the teams must negotiate themselves for more dollars. Gill And Rashid: The Franchise Pillars Shubman Gill and Rashid Khan are both the bedrock of the Gujarat Titans since it became part of the IPL. Gill was signed for a value of INR 8 crore, while Rashid was signed for the more handsome amount of INR 15 crore. With 24 years already ticking away, Gill was given the command when their former Captain Hardik Pandya was released to Mumbai Indians. For now, Rashid will go on to be one of their top bowling all-rounders. Rising Star Sudharsan The decision to prefer 23-year-old Sai Sudharsan over seasoned internationals such as Mohammed Shami and David Miller could raise some eyebrows, but GT sees him as a top-order mainstay for the future. Bought for INR 20 lakhs in 2022, Sudharsan, who had aggregated 527 runs in IPL 2024 with an average rising toward 48, brought back his strike rate as also up to 141. Already, he has long been considered a test prospect by India selectors and his team management, talking also on the eve of this Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Tewatia And Shahrukh: Power Down The Order Rahul Tewatia and Shahrukh Khan are the uncapped all-rounders who have been known to be powerful hitters. With this, GT has enriched its lower middle order further. Tewatia is an old finisher bought for INR 9 crore in 2022 and has given tremendous guidance to the leadership group with his insights on domestic players. Shahrukh is an extremely handy lower-order batsman and part-time off-spinner, picked in the 2024 auction for INR 7.4 crore and widely reckoned to be one of the hardest hitters in the domestic circuit. Final Retentions To Be Out Before October 31 Teams will be allowed to file their final list of retained players before October 31 as the IPL 2025 auction promises changes all round. The Sportz Planet Desk,Atharva Shetye
IND vs BAN: Shubman Gill’s Fifth Test Ton Justifies His ‘Prince’ Tag
Shubman Gill arrived on the scene like a cricketing superhero during the 1st test match at Chennai scoring a scintillating 119* off 176 deliveries. When it really mattered, Shubman Gill rose to the occasion. With India looking pretty comfortable, Shubman Gill felt it was high time to take it up a notch and show everyone why he is one of the promising young batsmen in international cricket today and gave his fifth test-match hundred off just 161 balls. Not a moment out of place in his innings; he was cautious and aggressive at the same time, like a tightrope walker with decades of experience. Gill And Pant To The Rescue It was with Rishabh Pant that the pair transformed the pitch to their own playground, treating spectators to some kind of spread of flair and finesse which would make even the most stoic cricket fan crack a smile. Gill Dealing In Boundaries For all that Bangladesh’s spinners could do, Shubman Gill seemed to have a magic wand; he found boundaries when they appeared as elusive as a needle in a haystack. Every one of those fours and sixes was a psychological blow to the opposition. A Century Worth Celebrating This was not just any century; after a string of dazzling performances, he proved that Shubman Gill is no one-hit wonder. He showed he could conquer test cricket while waving the bat like a ballet dancer, reminding all of greats who came before. The future looks bright for Gill When the crowds erupted in cheers, the Chennai crowd knew that Shubman Gill was running up scores not only but, with every stroke, writing a script for the future of Indian cricket and one that promises excitement, flair, and a whole lot of fun. The Sportz Planet Desk,Atharva Shetye
