Even in the 90th year of its existence, the Ranji Trophy continues to throw up oddities and new trends. The premier first-class tournament between states and territories set to start on October 11th has a rather interesting development: Six teams will have captains who don’t belong from their state.
These ‘guest’ captains mark the extent of the journey undertaken by these Ronins of domestic cricket. In the past, these professionals, in BCCI’s lingo, were utilised by associations as fill-ins for high-profile retirements, or seen as opportunities for young players unable to get into their state side, or an avenue for aging cricketers.
But now these six players have been marked as leaders, a signpost of professionalism and democratisation of the sport and a tournament that was essentially once a graceful and proud plank of partisanship for one’s own roots.
Punjab’s Mandeep Singh will captain Tripura, Karnataka’s R Samarth will lead Uttarakhand, Rajasthan’s Ashok Menaria will be Haryana’s skipper, Haryana’s Deepak Hooda will marshal Rajasthan and Paras Dogra, who played for his birth state Himachal Pradesh and later for Puducherry, will be the leader for Jammu & Kashmir, the land of Dogras. Puducherry have also opted for a guest player as captain in KB Arun Karthik.
Despite marshalling Punjab to the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 title last season, the 32-year-old Mandeep was asked to step down from a widening talent hub. Mandeep will step out for his milestone 100th First Class game as Tripuar’s captain.
“I still want to play white-ball cricket and I am working hard on my game but Punjab want to bring in more youngsters which is good. I felt bad that after winning Punjab’s first title after so many years, I was told that I was not good enough. Tripura will be a new challenge for me and I am excited,” Mandeep told this newspaper.
At 39, Dogra’s switch as captain to J&K is a surprise. Having accumulated over 9000 Ranji runs, the former Himachal and Pondicherry batter said J&K’s need for experience delivered the move. “The association called for an experienced leader on the field and that’s how they approached me. At this age, I am just open to new experiences and enjoying every bit of my time on the field,” tells Dogra.
And then there are other kinds of ‘guest’ players around the domestic circuit.
Firming bases
Having twice missed out on Hanuma Vihari who made a U-turn to get back to Andhra, Madhya Pradesh, who won their first Ranji Trophy title since 1952-53 (Holkar then) in 2022 under Chandrakant Pandit’s coaching regime, roped in two middle-order bats for the 2024-25 season. Harpreet Singh Bhatia, who started his First-Class career with Madhya Pradesh in 2008 and later represented his home association Chhattisgarh, will return to MP along with Odisha’s Subhranshu Senapati. Delhi quick Khulwant Khejroliya is MP’s third professional, the maximum cap an association can afford in the squad and the XI.
Even Harpreet did not ponder when “Chandu sir” called him up. “There was no particular reason for the move. Though Chhattisgarh has been my home, I have played my whole cricket in MP. The team is doing well, so when Chandu sir called me to come back again, I said let’s go and try to win the trophy from where it all started for me.”
Despite marshalling Punjab to the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 title last season, the 32-year-old Mandeep was asked to step down from a widening talent hub. (File)
Madhya Pradesh’s move also coincides with their participation in a highly stacked Elite C pool, a skewed outcome of the BCCI’s complex grouping system logic. MP will jostle for a top-two finish alongside heavyweights Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Bengal with Kerala and Haryana also in the fray.
Amidst the challenge, Kerala have opted for three guest players this season. The consistent underperformers have included Vidarbha’s Aditya Sarwate, who nabbed 41 wickets last season, and Tamil Nadu’s Baba Aparajith, who was out of favour in TN, will bolster the batting and chip in as a handy offspinner. besides the long-standing Jalaj Saxena.
“We needed to replace the retired Rohan Prem and it wasn’t easy to find a player of his calibre in the top-order. We also did not gain the expected results from Karnataka’s Shreyas Gopal, so we had to look elsewhere. Aparajith and Sarwate fitted the bill perfectly. Even Jalaj was unsure of staying this season but a transfer did not materialise. We were clear that we needed guest players primarily for red-ball. Two of our lead local spinners Sijomon Joseph and Vaisakh Chandran picked up injuries recently and our professional inclusions walked in at the right time.,” KCA secretary Vinod S Kumar says.
Recce and growth
Transfers have also nourished the development of the newest BCCI affiliates – five North East states, Pondicherry, and Uttarakhand – since the 2018-19 season. One of the first teams to spring into the Elite board from the Plate Group, Uttarakhand made it to the Ranji quarter-finals twice between 2021 and ‘23.
“The guest players have been of utmost importance to us. They soak up the maximum pressure and the younger lot learns from them. Aditya Tare has won multiple championships with Mumbai, and Samarth brings a wealth of experience. These decisions are made based on our requirements of skill-sets and a lot of recce work done throughout the off-season and otherwise,” Uttarakhand head coach Manish Jha explains.
Greener pastures
The system also helps the triers who have passed the age-group levels, like Mumbai’s 25-year-old, Bhupen Lalwani, who explains his reason to switch to Chhattisgarh was to play white-ball cricket.
“I’m not saying the Ranji Trophy won’t lead me towards that path but if I do well in white-ball cricket, IPL ka rasta khol sakta hai (the doors to IPL could open). Here in Chhattisgarh, I will be getting white-ball games, so who knows what lies ahead for me,” Lalwani, 14 FC matches old, says.
Hope for a better future, desire to leave the past behind and a wish to leave a legacy will all mark the journey of these ‘guest’ players this season.
‘Guest’ players in Ranji Trophy 2024-25 (Elite groups)
Elite A
J&K: Paras Dogra (capt)
Baroda: Akash Singh
Meghalaya: Sumit Kumar, Anirudh B, Ajay Duhan
Maharashtra: Rajneesh Gurbani Tripura: Mandeep Singh (capt), Jiwanjot Singh, Sharath Srinivas
Elite B
Vidarbha: Karun Nair, Dhruv Shorey
Gujarat: Ravi Bishnoi
Rajasthan: Deepak Hooda (capt)
Uttarakhand: R Samarth (capt), Aditya Tare, Swapnil Singh
Pondicherry: Aman Khan, KB Arun Karthick (capt), Ankit Sharma
Hyderabad: Rahul Singh Gahlaut
Elite C
Madhya Pradesh: Kulwant Khejroliya, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Shubranshu Senapati
Kerala: Aditya Sarwate, Jalaj Saxena, Baba Aparajith
Haryana: Ashok Menaria (capt)
Uttar Pradesh: Nitish Rana
Elite D
Chhattisgarh: Bhupen Lalwani, Eknath Kerkar, M Ravi Kiran
With inputs from Devendra Pandey and Pratyush Raj
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