Tamil Nadu has had a fabulous start to their 2024-25 Ranji Trophy campaign. They defeated Saurashtra by an innings and 70 runs in the season opener and they could have won against Delhi as well, if not for the bad light and time wasting theatrics from the hosts at Kotla. In their third round match, they will lock horns against Chhattisgarh in Coimbatore, but with a depleted side.
Against Delhi last week, they were already without their regular captain R Sai Kishore who is playing the Emerging Asia Cup in Oman. With India in knockouts, he will miss the clash against Chhattisgarh as well. Add to that, Tamil Nadu — which is leading Group D — will also be missing the services of B Sai Sudharsan, Baba Indrajith and Washington Sundar. Sudharsan, who scored a double century against Delhi along with Indrajith is in the 15-member India A squad, led by Ruturaj Gaikwad that is in Australia. Whereas, all-rounder Washington is currently playing in the second Test in Pune. Washington received an India call-up following his player-of-the-match performance against Delhi, where he scored a century and picked up six wickets with the ball.
Tamil Nadu stand-in skipper Narayan Jagadeesan is not worried about the “forced changes” as he sees this as an opportunity for others to step in.
“We can’t do much about it because you want your teammates to climb up as well. So there will be changes and one has to get used to it. It is not something that has happened when we are least prepared. We knew about it and it is an opportunity for others to step in and fit into the culture,” Jagadeesan told The Indian Express.
The unprecedented situation has arisen as three Indian teams are playing at the same time. Senior India team is involved in a three-match Test series against New Zealand. India A white-ball squad is playing in the Emerging Asia Cup in Oman, while a red-ball squad of India A is in Australia. A total of 46 Indian cricketers are not available for the third round of the Ranji Trophy.
Punjab Ranji Trophy coach Wasim Jaffer calls the situation “challenging.” Punjab, who will take on Uttar Pradesh at IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali are missing Abhishek Sharma, Prabhsimran Singh, Nehal Wadhera and Ramandeep Singh — all of them are playing in the Emerging Asia Cup.
“It is challenging. We had prepared for the season keeping these players in mind and have selected the squad accordingly. It did surprise me but you got to be ready as we are not the only team who are affected,” Jaffer said.
“Again at the same time, it gives opportunity to the other players as well. It is obviously something you don’t want to happen but also you are happy with the fact that your players are playing in the Emerging. It’s a win-win situation for the players but for the coaches, it is a headache. In the crucial games you don’t have your best playing XI that can affect your season,” added Jaffer.
Bengal coach Laxmi Ratan Shukla, whose side will miss four key players — Akash Deep (Test team), captain Abhimanyu Easwaran, seamer Mukesh Kumar and wicketkeeper-batter Abhishek Porel (India A tour of Australia) for their fixture against Kerala has urged the youngsters to step up.
“Look, this is an age-old system. When you play good cricket, you will miss key players on national duty and India A tours. As a team, you become weak once your main players are gone. But again at the same time, it is an opportunity for the youngsters, who are doing well at the U-23 and U-19 level to get the taste of Ranji Trophy and cement their place,” said Shukla.
Delhi’s coach Sarandeep Singh echoes the sentiments of Laxmi Ratan Shukla. He said: “We are without Ayush Badoni, Anuj Rawat, Hrithik Shokeen and Navdeep Saini. I guess the players who replaced them are equally good. The likes of Sanat Sangwan and Pranav Rajvanshi showed immense maturity against Tamil Nadu.”
“What I feel is that these things are not in my hands and I ponder much on these issues. It is good for Delhi that four of our players are selected for the Emerging tournament. It means they are on the selector’s radar.”
Delhi has received a major boost ahead of their tie against Assam as Harshit Rana, who was travelling with the Indian Test team as a reserve has been released to play the Ranji Trophy.
In recent years, as NCA head VVS Laxman said recently, the BCCI has been careful about India A programmes don’t coincide with the domestic season. But the shadow A tours to South Africa and Australia have been inevitable because of scheduling reasons.
Teams missing key players
Tamil Nadu
Match: vs Chhattisgarh
Players missing: R Sai Kishore, Washington Sundar, B Sai Sudharsan, Baba Indrajith.
Bengal
Match: vs Kerala
Players missing: Abhimanyu Easwaran, Abishek Porel, Mukesh Kumar and Akash Deep.
Punjab
Match: vs Uttar Pradesh
Players missing: Abhishek Sharma, Prabhsimran Singh, Nehal Wadhera and Ramandeep Singh.
Delhi
Match: vs Assam
Players missing: Ayush Badoni, Anuj Rawat, Hrithik Shokeen and Navdeep Saini.
Rajasthan
Match: vs Gujarat
Players missing: Rahul Chahar, Khaleel Ahmed and Manav Suthar.
Haryana
Match: vs Madhya Pradesh
Players missing: Nishant Sindhu and Anshul Kamboj.
Andhra
Match: vs Himachal Pradesh
Players missing: Nitish Kumar Reddy and Ricky Bhui.
Uttar Pradesh
Match: vs Punjab
Players missing: Aaqib Khan and Yash Dayal.
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