Gautam Gambhir set to make Ranji comeback

Veteran Indian opener Gautam Gambhir is having his name feature in the headlines everywhere. The reasons have been many. He has had fluctuating fortunes in the recent past. After a brilliant IPL and Duleep Trophy this year, he made a comeback to the national side. His comeback came after 2 years since he last played in the national colours. The comeback match against New Zealand saw him score a brisk fifty.

Just when the Gambhir fans started anticipating their hero to stamp his authority as the opener, things went out of hand. Playing against England in the first Test at Rajkot saw him get low scores. A duck in the 2nd innings did not work in his favour. With the return of KL Rahul in the side, Gautam Gambhir was excluded from the playing eleven. Having been benched, Gambhir now has an opportunity to play the Ranji encounter for his team Delhi.

The DDCA recently announced their 15 member squad for Delhi’s next match in the Ranji Trophy. The team is set to play Rajasthan at Wayanad on November 21. The DDCA selectors mentioned that they spoke to the team management about the availability of the opener. Gautam Gambhir too responded in positive and showed interest in featuring in the match. Fast bowler Ishant Sharma has also been included in the team as the 16th member.

However, whether Ishant will be allowed to leave the national set-up or not is an area under doubt. Usually, the pace bowlers are retained in the squad for bowling in the nets. The DDCA meeting was attended by the selectors Nikhil Chopra, Atul Wassan, Robin Singh Junior along with coach KP Bhaskar, Chand and Co-Convenor Siddharth Sahib Singh. The match will also mark the return of Shikhar Dhawan, who has recovered from his thumb injury.

Also read – The Indian team needs to take a decision on Gautam Gambhir: Sourav Ganguly

The selectors mentioned that in case Gambhir is not available at the time of the match, Himmat Singh has been kept as a reserve. “The selectors have spoken to Gautam and he has expressed his interest in playing the next round encounter as he will be getting valuable match time. That’s the reason we have named Gautam in the squad. In case, we don’t get him, we have kept Himmat Singh as cover,” a selection panel member quoted to the PTI.

Meanwhile, the Delhi skipper Unmukt Chand has requested the management to let Gambhir lead the side in case he turns up for the match. Here is the Delhi squad for the next fixture.

Delhi : Gautam Gambhir, Unmukt Chand, Shikhar Dhawan, Dhruv Shorey, Milind Kumar, Nitish Rana, Rishabh Pant, Manan Sharma, Pradeep Sangwan, Navdeep Saini, Sumit Narwal, Vikas Tokas, Sarthak Ranjan, Pulkit Narang, Varun Sood, Ishant Sharma. Stand By: Himmat Singh.