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.
KL Rahul has been an all-format player for India in the last few years. Yet, he managed to squeeze in a Ranji Trophy appearance in March 2020 for Karnataka. In the semi-final match against Bengal, Rahul scored 26 runs off 67 balls in the first innings but was dismissed for a silver duck in the second as Bengal progressed to the final.
Rishabh Pant was the captain of Delhi against Vidarbha in the 2017-18 Ranji Trophy final. He could muster only 21 and 32 across the two innings, with Vidarbha lifting the trophy under Faiz Fasal’s captaincy.
Dhruv Jurel scored 63 runs for Uttar Pradesh against Kerala in January 2024 before making his debut for India against England in the third match of the five-Test home series.
Sarfaraz Khan also made his last Ranji Trophy appearance back in January 2024 but could muster only a solitary run before getting dismissed by Sakibul Gani.
Washington Sundar represented Tamil Nadu in a match against Delhi in the ongoing 2024-25 Ranji Trophy season. Sundar scored 152 runs off 269 balls scoring 19 boundaries and one maximum before taking six wickets with the ball in hand which led to India head coach Gautam Gambhir handing him a Test comeback against New Zealand.
Ravindra Jadeja last made a Ranji Trophy appearance back in January 2023. Jadeja’s disappointing returns of 1/48 and 15 runs allowed Tamil Nadu to take a hefty first innings lead but his second innings figures of 7/53 brought Saurashtra back in the game. Jadeja scored 25 runs in the fourth innings as Saurashtra lost the match by 59 runs.
Nitish Kumar Reddy last represented Andhra Pradesh against Gujarat in October 2024 and bagged only one wicket in 13 overs followed by scores of 47 and 34 with the bat.
Akash Deep's last Ranji Trophy match was rather forgettable as he recorded figures of 1/65 in the only innings he bowled and could only score five runs across two innings.
Jasprit Bumrah’s workload management is one of the most critical issues in Indian cricket currently and it’s no surprise that the seamer last turned out for Gujarat in a Ranji Trophy fixture way back in January 2017, scalping seven wickets with a six-wicket haul in the second innings.
Mohammed Siraj would remember his last Ranji Trophy match for his batting exploits as he scored 22 runs off 14 balls followed by another fantastic innings of 46 runs off 27 balls that included six maximums and four fours. The fast bowler also took two wickets in the match.
Praisdh Krishna’s last Ranji Trophy appearance was in October 2024 as he bowled only eight overs dismissing Himanshu Mantri as his solitary wicket in the match.
Harshit Rana last turned out for Delhi in October 2024 against Assam where he struck a five-wicket haul in the first innings followed by a half-century that included four fours and three maximums. In the second innings, Rana struck two more crucial wickets fast-tracking him into the Indian team as he was handed his debut cap in the historic win at Perth.
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