Vimal has been in red-hot form.
| Photo Credit: R. RAGU
Tamil Nadu opener Vimal Khumar made his Ranji Trophy debut in the 2023-24 season, when he had meagre returns from five innings. Subsequently, he didn’t feature even in a single game in the 2024-25 season.
But this year, being the top run-getter with 646 runs from seven innings at an average of 92.29 in the TNCA first division league and having scored two centuries for the NCA President’s XI in the ongoing Buchi Babu tournament, Vimal is staking his claim to the opener’s slot for the upcoming Ranji season.
“Not focusing too much on it. I just want to do my part well. I want to get runs and make sure my team is winning. So, I’m just trying to focus more on that. And the by-product is helping me as well.
“But definitely, very optimistic that I will get a chance to do well in the Ranji Trophy as well,” Vimal said here on Sunday.
The 22-year-old said that he worked extensively on his batting for around four months during the pre-season.
“I have worked a lot with Chemplast (owning company of his first division team Jolly Rovers) and B. Indrajith (his Tamil Nadu teammate and Rovers captain).
“So, every day, they used to give me proper side-armers (throwdowns) and very good wickets with moisture (to practise on) at our home ground (IIT-Chemplast), so that I’m able to prepare well. And Indrajith has helped me a lot with getting into good batting positions and playing spin bowling in general,” Vimal added.
Published – August 31, 2025 08:42 pm IST
