Saurashtra player Cheteshwar Pujara during a practice session at Sri Ramakrishna College cricket grounds in Coimbatore on Thursday, ahead of the Ranji Trophy match against Tamil Nadu from Friday.
| Photo Credit: Periasamy M

Ranji Trophy has an old-world charm and a present-day purpose. It is a tournament with a 90-year history, is played in Test whites with a red cherry, at grounds quaint and modern, across the length and breadth of this gigantic country.

It also occupies a prime position in the supply chain that feeds Indian cricket, especially the longer format. The sheer number of runs a batter scores or the bucketload of wickets a bowler takes are impossible to ignore, as seen recently in the ascent of Mumbai’s Sarfaraz Khan, Madhya Pradesh’s Rajat Patidar and the Bengal pace duo of Mukesh Kumar and Akash Deep.

From Friday, hundreds of cricketers will take the field with these very hopes as this year’s edition begins with 38 teams split across the Elite and Plate divisions. Old warhorses like Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha and Cheteshwar Pujara, the red and white-ball straddlers like Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer, and a battery of young and fledgling cricketers will be eager to show their worth.

But their first test will be to deal with the competition’s tweaked format this season. To ensure that matches, especially in northern and eastern India, aren’t disrupted by the winter fog, Ranji Trophy has been split into two phases, with the first five rounds running until November 16, and the last two rounds and the knockouts slated to begin from January 23, 2025.

Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (T20) and Vijay Hazare Trophy (50 overs) will be sandwiched in between, presenting a unique challenge of switching from red ball to white and back to red in a short time. Where players will get a respite, however, is in the spacing between games. Against the standard three-day gap in 2023-24, the break is set to progressively increase this time around.

Among the biggest beneficiaries will be the fast bowlers. With India set to tour Australia for a gruelling five-Test series beginning November 22, pacers are prized commodities. The form and fitness of the lanky Karnataka speedster Prasidh Krishna will be keenly observed while it remains to be seen if Mohammed Shami, who hasn’t played since the 2023 World Cup final against Australia because of an ankle injury, chooses a Ranji game for Bengal to mark his competitive return.

It is said that Ranji Trophy is more followed than watched. The fact that it runs parallel to the Indian national team’s home season means players will be forced to compete for attention. But importance and relevance are not something the tournament lacks. It is like a timeless piece of art that doesn’t need repeated explanations.

Hanuma Vihari, part of India’s back to back series wins in Australia, reckons the services of veteran batter Cheteshwar Pujara will be dearly missed when the team aims for a hat-trick Down Under later this year.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Hanuma Vihari, part of India’s back to back series wins in Australia, reckons the services of veteran batter Cheteshwar Pujara will be dearly missed when the team aims for a hat-trick Down Under later this year.

The five Test series begins in Perth from November 22. Out of favour Pujara was the leading run-getter in the 2018-19 series with 521 off 1258 balls and was once again the backbone of Indian batting three years later when he accumulated 271 runs off 928 balls.

Across the two teams, the 103-Test veteran by far faced the number of balls to wear out the opposition attack comprising Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc.

As another Border-Gavaskar Trophy is on the horizon, Vihari wondered who can play Pujara’s role this time around.

“Pujara will a big miss. he was the backbone of the batting line-up in the last two series for Team India. He took blows, he batted time, he stayed there for a long time, he saw the new ball, he got runs. He made the job easier for the other batters coming in,” Vihari told PTI in an interaction arranged by JioCinema.

“So that kind of role… who will play is a question mark for me. Currently I would say we have an attacking mode of a batting line up (the top six). All like to play their shots. Virat is the only one I feel in that batting line up who can be like a glue to the other batters.

“He can stay on and bat the most number of overs and you know batting in Australia is all about time. If you see off the new ball, it gets a little easier with the older Kookaburra ball,” added Vihari who played the last of his 16 Tests in July 2022.

In the absence of Pujara, he also sees a significant role for K L Rahul at number six. He feels Risabh Pant is best suited at number five. Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli form the top four.

“That’s where KL Rahul’s role also will be important because he is someone who’s got the experience in playing in SENA countries and he can bat long. He has done well in SENA countries. I feel they are looking at KL Rahul at number 6 as well.

“By playing Rahul ahead of Sarfaraz in the current series (against Bangladesh), they are looking at a bigger picture. They want experience in number 6 when we tour Australia.

“Because in Australia playing at 6 you need to have good technique whether it’s facing the second new ball or batting after an early collapse,” he said.

Vihari also thinks playing Australia in their own backyard will be the biggest thus far for Jaiswal, who has done well at home but is yet to prove himself in overseas conditions.

“It’s his biggest test. But he’s a very confident guy. Overall facing Australia in Australia, the mental preparation is key. This time we are playing five Test matches in Australia compared to four earlier.

“So it’s even more mentally draining Down Under because everything is against you. The media is against you, the people are against you and you are away from home facing Australian attack in Australia,” added Vihari, who stitched a match saving stand with R Ashwin in the Sydney Test on the previous tour.

Cheteshwar Pujara returned to Sussex for the third successive time in 2024.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

India Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara will not return to Sussex for next year’s County Championship after the English club side opted to relieve him to retain the services of Australian Daniel Hughes.

The left-handed Hughes will be available for all Championship and T20 Vitality Blast matches next season. The club also announced that West Indies right-arm fast bowler Jayden Sales will play the first block of championship fixtures.

Pujara returned to Sussex for the third successive time in 2024. He played the first seven Championship matches before Hughes’ arrival.

“Taking over from Cheteshwar is not an easy task, but Dan has fitted in brilliantly and we are all delighted he will be back for the whole of next season,” Sussex head coach Paul Farbrace said in a statement on its official website.

Hughes was the leading run scorer in the group stages of this year’s Blast with 560 runs at an average of 43.07, including five fifties and a highest score of 96 not out.

The Aussie helped Sussex secure a quarter-final against Lancashire Lightning at home on September 4. He will also featured in Sussex’s final five Championship games this season.

“Dan has been top class for us on and off the field. He has brought a wealth of experience to the dressing room and has seriously helped some of our young batters with the development of their games,” Fabrace said.