In the new season of Ranji Trophy 2026-27, Himachal Pradesh cricket team will take the field with a balance of young talent and experienced players. Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) has declared a 15-member squad. The command of the team has been handed over to Pukhraj Mann. This time the selectors have given an opportunity to six new players to showcase their talent in Ranji Trophy. This will give an opportunity to the emerging cricket talents in different districts of the state to progress in national level domestic cricket.
The most special thing in the team selection is that three such players have also got a place, who have played for Himachal in ODI and T-20 formats, but will now prove their ability for the first time in the longer format of Ranji Trophy. These include Una's Amanpreet Singh, Hrithik Kalia and Nitin Sharma. At the same time, Jitendra and Vaibhav Kalta of Shimla and Harshit Sandal of Lahaul-Spiti will play for the senior team of Himachal in Ranji Trophy for the first time.
From white ball to red ball, players will have real test
There is a lot of difference between limited overs cricket and four-day matches of Ranji Trophy. While in ODI and T-20, players are challenged to score fast runs in a short period of time and perform better in the stipulated overs, Ranji Trophy tests the batsmen's technique, patience, concentration and ability to stay at the crease for a long time. In such a situation, this session is going to be important for Amanpreet Singh, Hrithik Kalia and Nitin Sharma.
All three players have played limited overs cricket for the state. Now he will get an opportunity to prove his worth in the red ball format. On the other hand, Jitendra, Vaibhav Kalta and Harshit Sandal will have the challenge of cementing their place in the team with their performance at the senior level. This decision of giving opportunity to young players is also considered important for the cricket system of Himachal. However, the real assessment of these players can be done only on the basis of their performance and team results.
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Under the leadership of Pukhraj Mann with the support of experience and professional players
HPCA has handed over the command of the team to Pukhraj Mann. Along with him, Aryaman Dhaliwal and Nehal Wadhera have also been included in the team as professional players. In this way, there will be three professional players in the 15-member team. Players from different districts of the state have got representation in the team. Shubham Arora from Hamirpur, Akash Vashishtha, Arpit Guleria and Inesh Mahajan from Kangra have got the place. Jitendra, Mukul Negi and Vaibhav Kalta from Shimla are included in the team.
Amanpreet Singh, Hrithik Kalia and Nitin Sharma have been selected from Una. Divesh from Solan and Harshit Sandal from Lahaul-Spiti will also be part of the team. The presence of players from different districts in the team reflects the wide base of cricket talent in the state. Now these players will have to live up to the trust of the selectors through collective performance.
The challenge of preparing the team is the responsibility of the experienced coaching staff.
Keeping in mind the long season of Ranji Trophy, HPCA has also decided the coaching and support staff for the team. Vineet Saxena will take over the responsibility of head coach. Gagandeep Singh will be the bowling coach and Shakun Saini will be the fielding coach. The support staff includes physio Saurav Thakur, strength and conditioning coach Jarnail Singh and video analyst Raj Kirit Kapadia among others. Rajesh Puri will take over the responsibility of team manager. In four-day matches, fitness of the players, prevention of injuries, consistency in bowling and making strategies according to the match conditions are very important. In such a situation, the role of coaching staff will also be important in the performance of the team.
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Himachal's campaign will start from October 11
Himachal Pradesh team will start its campaign in Ranji Trophy 2026-27 against Haryana on October 11 in Lahli. After this, there will be a match with Mumbai in Bilaspur from 18th to 21st October. The team will play against Chandigarh from 26 to 29 October. In November, Himachal will face Rajasthan in Dharamshala from 2 to 5 November. After this, a match against Tamil Nadu is scheduled from 17th to 20th January. Himachal will play against Uttarakhand in Dharamshala from January 24 to 27 and Railways in Dharamshala from February 1 to 4. Along with maintaining the fitness of the players, the team will also have to show consistency in batting and bowling between consecutive matches.
HPCA gave opportunity to young talents
According to HPCA Secretary Manuj Sharma, this time in team selection, emphasis has been laid on balancing experience with giving opportunities to young players. Six new players and three professional players have been included in the 15-member team. Now it has to be seen how much this opportunity given to young players strengthens Himachal's Ranji campaign. On one hand, the team will face the challenge of adapting the new players to the bigger format, while on the other hand, the aim will be to achieve results in the matches by building better coordination with the experienced players.