Ranji Trophy: Rishabh Pant latest batter to fail after Rohit, Gill, Jaiswal on difficult first day | Read

A remarkably poor day out for India’s international batters who have returned to domestic cricket, as all fell in quick succession across different matches. Rishabh Pant became the latest, scoring just 1 run vs Saurashtra before being dismissed. Shubman Gill was also out cheaply vs Karnataka, while Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma’s early dismissals for Mumbai triggered an incredible collapse.

After a few months on the back-burner as the Indian domestic cricket circuit went through with its white-ball tournaments, the premier first class competition is returning with the Ranji Trophy’s final two rounds beginning this week. With plenty on the line, it is also a week that is likely to garner the most attention for a Ranji Trophy group stage round in many a year, with the BCCI’s new mandates meaning several of India’s big-name stars will be amongst the action representing their state teams in a crucial set of fixtures.

The names will be led by Indian Test captain Rohit Sharma, who is set to represent Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy for the first time since 2015. Although he came out in defence of himself and his international teammates in saying India’s all-format regulars haven’t had the time to play first class games in the last decade-plus, Rohit’s retirement from T20I cricket combined with a torrid spell in the Test team has forced his hand into trying to regain his form via the domestic route.

Other big names who are expected to feature are Shubman Gill, who will play for Punjab against Karnataka, but the concern for India’s new ODI vice-captain will be about translating his incredible ability on domestic tracks to consistent performances overseas. Yashasvi Jaiswal is expected to feature alongside Rohit at the top of Mumbai’s order as a star-studded team takes on Jammu and Kashmir in a bid to qualify for the quarterfinals.

The match of the round could well be Delhi vs Saurashtra, as Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja make their respective returns in Rajkot for the teams sitting fourth and fifth in a tight group D. Delhi will be without Virat Kohli for this round, but could set up a thrilling match upon his return should they produce a positive result against Saurashtra this week.

Some key names who will miss out are Mohammed Siraj, whose workload has led to him asking Hyderabad for some time off, as well as Sarfaraz Khan, who is dealing with a minor injury of his own. For Bengal, there will be some key players missing as Akash Deep and Abhimanyu Easwaran are both sidelined due to injury as well.

Key games in this round of fixtures will include Bengal taking on Haryana, who sit on top of the table for group C. Bengal could fight their way into contention even without their big names, with Mohammed Shami on international duty, but Haryana could seal their spot in the knockouts as well.

Eyes will also be on Delhi vs Saurashtra for the consequences of that game, but the main focus of this week and round of matches will be J&K travelling to Mumbai. J&K currently sit in second place in the table for Elite Group A, one point ahead of defending champions Mumbai, with Baroda ahead of them having gotten off to a hot start. If J&K produce their best cricket against Mumbai’s star names, they could spark a historic upset and all but send the trophy-holders packing.