Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant. (Photo Source: BCCI)
An 18-member squad of the Delhi state team has been announced by the senior men’s selection committee held on October 2, 2024. The Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium was where the selectors finalized the squad for the first couple of Ranji Trophy matches for the upcoming season.
The 27-year-old batter, Himmat Singh, was shortlisted to lead the side. He last featured in a competitive first-class game during the previous edition of the Ranji Trophy, during which he only scored 411 runs in 12 innings. He will be aiming to stepping up a notch to inspire his team much more during the 2024-25 season.
However, what turned everybody’s heads was the omission of Indian cricket stars Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant who were earlier named in probable of the Delhi Ranji Team. Notably, Kohli last played for Delhi in the 2012-2013 Ranji Trophy season. While Pant too has been away from domestic cricket from quite long now.
Besides, Ayush Badoni, who has gained immense traction while representing the Lucknow Super Giants since the 2022 season of the Indian Premier League, is most likely to act as Himmat’s deputy.
India pacer, Navdeep Saini, who has been out of the reckoning for quite a bit also finds himself in the XVIII. Having last featured for the Indian side in 2021, he has been out of the contention due to form and fitness. However, he has been in fine form of late, which was evident for all to witness during the recently-concluded Duleep Trophy.
Among other prominent cricketers, Yash Dhull finds his name as well. The promising top-order batter who was a vital component of the U-19 World Cup-winning side will be aiming on bettering his Rani Trophy stats, bearing in mind that he could only register only one 50 and as many tons in the previous edition of the tournament.
Hrithik Shokeen, another up and coming star, will be aiming to play a crucial role for Delhi on tracks posessing purchase with his gripping off-spin.
The selectors have gone ahead with a couple of wicketkeeper-batters, as expected. A regular feature of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Anuj Rawat, as well as Pranav Rajuvanshi have been picked.
Promising left-arm orthodox, Harsh Tyagi, has also been included into the mix.
Right-arm medium fast, Simarjeet Singh, has been incorprated in the squad. With him battling injury concerns, young Divij Mehra will be travelling along the squad if Simarjeet is assessed unfit by the physios.
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Delhi aiming to elevate performance as compared to previous edition
The 2024 edition of the Ranji Trophy which saw Mumbai clinch their 42nd of the tournament, saw Delhi miss out on a spot to the quarter-final by finishing third in Group D.
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Starting off on October 11, they would be aiming to perform significantly better, with the minimum target being to qualify for the knockout stages.