Ranji Trophy 2016/17: A Short Preview Of The Teams

The 83rd season of Ranji Trophy, India’s most prestigious domestic tournament, will commence from tomorrow with 28 teams and 700-odd players involved in this season.

A major change introduced in the format of the Ranji Trophy this season is that all the matches will be played at neutral venues. This move is to cut down the home advantage factor from the tournament.

The stats from the previous season seems to have forced the BCCI to take the decision. 28 matches finished inside three days last season. There was also a surge of the number of outright wins which increased from 56 in 2014-15 to 63 in 2015-16. The matches played were same in both the seasons (115).

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has also increased the number of members in the grounds and pitches committee from the existing 10 to 27. The 17 curators in charge of preparing surfaces across the country will have a tough job of making sure that the tracks laid out are of top quality and yield results.

Mumbai:

The exciting Armaan Jaffer has been named in the Mumbai squad for the first time. Jaffer, who represented India in the Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh earlier this year, made an impressive 69 against the New Zealanders last month in the practice game. Aditya Tare, who led Mumbai to their 41st Ranji Trophy title last year, will continue to lead the side that includes seasoned players like Abhishek Nayar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Suryakumar Yadav and Shardul Thakur.

Shreyas Iyer, last season’s highest run-getter, has been ruled out of Mumbai’s opening clash due to a quadriceps injury. Kaustubh Pawar will be making a comeback to the Ranji team after a two-year gap. Pawar is returning after struggling with a shoulder injury and recently announced his arrival with a century against the New Zealanders.

Sufiyan Shaikh, who made his first-class debut earlier this year against Jharkhand, will be the backup wicketkeeper-batsman. Siddesh Lad, however, is mysteriously missing from the squad. The rest of squad has familiar faces like Jay Bista, Akhil Herwadkar, Surya Kumar Yadav, Dhawal Kulkarni, and Balwinder Sandhu among others who were important to Mumbai’s successful campaign last year. They begin their title defense against Tamil Nadu in Lahli, starting on October 6.

Hyderabad:

Senior pro, Subramanian Badrinath will be leading Hyderabad this season. This is a huge boost for the team considering his run making prowess. The 36-year-old has accumulated 9778 first-class runs at an average of 56.19 with 13 tons and 43 half-centuries. After helping Vidarbha reach the quarterfinals in the last two seasons, Badrinath now has the challenge of guiding Hyderabad back to the Elite group.

Badrinath is the sole recognizable face in the young team. The last three years they have not played good cricket. Therefore, confidence needs to be instilled in them first; Badrinath surely can do that as a mentor. The skipper will have former India bowling coach and his childhood mentor Bharat Arun with his as the coach. Both will have the onus on them to work out on the winning formula and guide the young pool of players to success.

Baroda:

Baroda, under the helm of new coach Jacob Martin this year, will be hoping for a super show from the Pathan brothers – Irfan and Yusuf. Both have been great form and can contribute greatly to the team’s success.

The Pandya brothers – Krunal and Hardik are also important components of the team.  Both these all-rounders will also be vital in taking their team to the knockouts. Young men Deepak Hooda, Bhargav Bhatt and Pinal Shah along with experienced head like Munaf Patel will have to perform to their best.

Tamil Nadu:

Tamil Nadu has a balanced unit and promises to be a threatening side. But, unfortunately, this year they won’t have the luxury to dominate the team in home conditions.  Abhinav Mukund sis set to lead the side while Baba Aparajith will be his deputy.

The weakness of the side can be its inexperience. The absence of Murali Vijay and retirement of Lakshmipathy Balaji will hurt but the young squad has the capability in them to play high-quality cricket. The guidance of their skipper and veteran Dinesh Kartik will play a vital role in their success.

Uttar Pradesh: 

Uttar Pradesh looks the most formidable side in this tournament. On paper, they are stronger than the defending champions. The batting order has a strong look with Suresh Raina, Sarfaraz Khan, Eklavya Dwivedi and Akshdeep Nath in their ranks. The young batting side has a huge opportunity in their hands in the upcoming season.

The bowling attack comprising of Piyush Chawla, Praveen Kumar, and Amit Mishra will be threatening in any conditions. These seniors will have the fast and in-form Ankit Rajpoot and chinaman for their support Kuldeep Yadav. A bowling line up with such a mix of experience and talent a surely get better of the opponent on any given day. Head Coach Manoj Prabhakar’s experienced and guidance will also matter a lot.

Gujarat: 

The Gujarat side led by Parthiv Patel lacks in experience but has promising names. They will have to rely on individual brilliance. The likes of RP Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, and Rush Kalaria form a decent pace attack.

Axar Patel in the spin department makes the bowling department stronger. The Gujarat side lacks in the batting department. Rujul Bhatt, Manpreet Juneja, Priyank Panchal and Bhargav Merai all can be effective but their success looks bit uncertain.

Parthiv Patel will have to shoulder maximum batting responsibility. On paper, the team has the potential and can spring a surprise. It will be interesting to see how they deal with the tough competitors this season.

Punjab: 

Punjab has one of the strongest sides season with some serious young names. On paper, they have one of the most balanced sides in the competition.

Yuvraj Singh, the skipper of the side and veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh are the experienced men in the side while Gurkeerat Singh, Jiwanjot Singh, Mandeep Singh and Manan Vohra are among the best young batsmen in the country at the moment.

Bhaji will have leg-spinner Sarabjit Ladda as his spin partner while Barinder Sran, Sandeep Sharma, and Siddarth Kaul make for a formidable pace attack. Going by the names they have on their side, it won’t be wrong to term them as one of the top contenders this season.

Bengal: 

Bengal will be without two of their biggest contributors – Wriddhiman Saha and Mohammed Shami who will be busy playing for the Indian team. Bengal’s strength will be their batting which has as  a settled look in the presence of Manoj Tiwary, Sudip Chatterjee, Debabrata Das and Abhimanyu Easwaran.

On conditions helpful, the bowling attack comprising of Ashok Dinda and Pragyan Ojha. can be very effective. The side needs to really think of showing some great team effort and pull a surprise or two for their opponents this season.