New Delhi: The highly-anticipated Ranji Trophy comeback of India’s cricket stars ended in a whimper as barring Ravindra Jadeja none of the Test regulars managed to live up to their superstar billings on Day 1 of the penultimate round of India’s premier red-ball domestic competition.
The big guns of Indian cricket returned to the Ranji Trophy amidst massive expectations and huge fanfare but all the noise died down in the first two hours.
Much to the disappointment of the fans, India skipper Rohit Sharma, opening batter Yashasvi Jaiswal, wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant, superstar batter Shubman Gill and seasoned player Shreyas Iyer all fell cheaply in the morning session of their respective fixtures.
The cheap dismissals against little-known bowlers raise big questions about the quality of the current Indian Test team and magnify the issue of a team, which suffered the same fate in completely different conditions. The mass failure on Thursday also shows that the home humiliation against New Zealand and the humbling Down Under was neither a coincidence nor a minor blip.
It was, in fact, a clear reflection of the current state of affairs and validates BCCI’s decision to promote domestic cricket and encourage the superstars to give importance, and respect to First-Class cricket.
Despite years of playing experience across the globe, Indian cricket stars were unable to cope with the hostile bowling across different venues. The bowlers, to their credit, were on song in helpful conditions but one should expect much better from international-level players, who were tamed far too easily by the grinders on the domestic circuit.
It was a case of missed opportunity for India’s stars to regain their form and confidence by getting some much-needed runs under their belts.
Here’s what transpired on Day 1
The day started with the familiar sight of Rohit Sharma taking a slow walk back to the pavillion after a cheap dismissal. Following a horror run in Australia, Rohit returned to India’s premier domestic red-ball tournament for defending champions Mumbai after a decade, aiming to regain his form and rhythm ahead of next month’s Champions Trophy.
It didn’t take long for the fans, who were watching the action from their office floors in BKC, to return to their work. The once-in-a-lifetime chance to watch one of the purest strikers of a cricket ball went in thin air after the dismissal of Rohit (3). Going for his signature pull stroke off pacer Umar Nazir, Rohit got a leading edge which Jammu and Kashmir skipper Paras Dogra caught easily at mid-off.
Rohit would hope to make the second chance count in the second essay.
Rohit’s poor form rubbed on to his opening partner Yashasvi Jaiswal, who was one of the very few positives from Australia. He too fell cheaply for 4.
Shreyas Iyer, another star name in the Mumbai squad, was dismissed for 11 in his first professional cricket appearance since being named in the ICC Champions Trophy squad.
Elsewhere in Rajkot, Rishabh Pant, playing for Delhi in a first-class game for the first time since the 2017-2018 season was dismissed for 1 by veteran Saurashtra left-arm spinner Dharmendrasingh Jadeja. Pant’s India teammate and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was the only India star to shine on his domestic comeback. Playing a Ranji match for the first time since January 2023, Jadeja bagged a five-wicket haul to help Saurashtra restrict Delhi to 188.
Shubman Gill, one of the promising young cricketers, in world cricket, too failed to fire with the bat. Gill, playing for Punjab, was caught behind for just 4 against Karnataka at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. He was dismissed by Abhilash Shetty in the fourth over of the innings as Punjab folded for a deplorable score of 44 in 29 overs.
The Prelude
After commotion over India’s despicable red-ball form which saw them being whitewashed at home for the first time in their history and losing a Test series against Australia after 10 years, BCCI released a 10-point diktat that included the mandate for contracted players’ participation in domestic cricket.
With no choice but to comply with the guidelines, the Indian stars made themselves available for the Ranji Trophy. The massive debate on the players’ conduct and commitment to red-ball cricket ignited by the 1-3 loss in Australia should have begun after the home humiliation against New Zealand which would have forced the stars to play domestic red-ball cricket to gain some much-needed form for the Australia tour.
Both Virat Kohli and Rohit could have played Duleep Trophy to get some red-ball practice ahead of the crucial Border-Gavaskar Trophy. But neither their poor form nor the importance of the series was enough for the duo to turn up for the Duleep Trophy.
The cracks, which started to appear after the shocking loss against the Kiwis, widened in Australia. The Ranji comeback failure of the superstars of Indian cricket has exposed the cracks fully and proved why playing domestic cricket is important.
The poor showing of India’s cricket stars on Ranji Trophy return highlights the importance of domestic cricket in maintaining top-level performance and underscores the need for consistent participation. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
