As India come off a poor Test season, scrutiny around the players' participation in domestic first-class cricket has grown by leaps and bounds. Here, we look at when Indian cricketers in and around the current Test setup last played in the Ranji Trophy.
The 2024-25 domestic season is on a roll with high-profile international players like Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Ajinkya Rahane, and the current Indian captain for the T20I format, Suryakumar Yadav recently turning out for Mumbai.
Now, as the last couple of rounds of the Ranji Trophy returns, it’s the turn of the red-ball superstars to follow suit after the BCCI released a ten-point policy with a mandate on playing in domestic cricket as the utmost priority. This comes after India losing six out of their last eight Tests with three of those losses coming in the home series against New Zealand.
Also read: Ranji Trophy 2025, live updates: Gill named in Punjab squad, Pant & Kohli in Delhi probables
As the latest round of Ranji Trophy draws closer (the next round starts on January 23), India Test captain Rohit Sharma, among other important members of the current Test XI have been seen or are expected to be seen practicing with their state squads. As confirmation is awaited regarding the participation of these players in the upcoming Ranji fixture, we have a look at when they made their last appearance in the Ranji Trophy.
Also read: When was the last time Rohit and Kohli played in the Duleep Trophy?
India's current Test stars last Ranji Trophy outings
Rohit Sharma last played for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy back in November 2015 as he smashed a century scoring 113 runs off 140 balls in an innings that included 13 boundaries and a maximum. While Shreyas Iyer also scored a century in that match, Shardul Thakur scored 56 runs, and India’s current assistant coach Abhishek Nayar picked 4 wickets after contributing 42 runs with the bat in hand.
Yashaswi Jaiswal represented Mumbai exactly two years ago in January 2023 before making his Test debut on the tour of West Indies in July 2023. The southpaw was dismissed for a golden duck in the first innings by Maharasthra’s Pradeep Dadhe. In the second innings, he scored 14 runs off 12 balls falling to left-arm spinner Vicky Ostwal.
Shubman Gill last represented Punjab back in January 2022 returning with disappointing scores of 9 and 19. The top-order batter also bowled three overs in that match, which is a rare sight.
Virat Kohli was part of a star-studded Delhi squad back in November 2012 in a match against Uttar Pradesh. Kohli’s first innings score of 14 runs off 19 balls was followed by a knock of 43 runs off 65 balls in the second innings with nine fours across the match.
