Ranji Trophy 2025: Delhi's Ayush Badoni set to play two First-Class games with only a day's break

Captain Ayush Badoni has made himself available to play Delhi's Round 2 match of the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2025-26 against Himachal, starting October 25 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, despite being supposed to join the India A squad for the first Test against South Africa, scheduled for October 30 commencement at Bengaluru's Centre of Excellence Ground A. Both these fixtures are going to be four-day encounters each. 

This means that Badoni is potentially set to feature in two First-Class games with only a day's gap, which too, he is likely to utilize for travelling to Bengaluru from Delhi and a possible body recovery after four days of match time. However, with the India A duty keeping him busy for another couple of weeks, Badoni will miss the third and even the fourth round Ranji games, opening on November 1 and November 8, respectively.

Notably, Badoni had starred in Delhi's drawn game in the first round clash against Hyderabad. Apart from scoring a fifty with the bat in the only inning he played, Badoni also impressed with a six-wicket haul, courtesy of which, his side clinched three points on the basis of first-inning's lead against the Tilak Varma-led side in Hyderabad.

This setting is likely to hinder a few others in the mix for India A series as well, including the likes of Karnataka's Devdutt Padikkal, Vidarbha's Harsh Dubey and Yash Thakur, Rajat Patidar and Saransh Jain from Madhya Pradesh, Mumbai's Tanush Kotian and Ayush Mhatre, Rajasthan's Khaleel Ahmed and Manav Suthar, Tamil Nadu's Sai Sudharsan and N Jagadeesan, and lastly, Punjab's Gurnoor Brar.

For the unversed, the assignment for India A marks the return of Rishabh Pant, after recuperating fully from the injury on his right toe. Vice-captain for the senior side, Pant will be seen captain against South Africa A in both the games. The second match of the series will also welcome national stars like KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj, Dhruv Jurel, Akash Deep, and Prasidh Krishna.