Mumbai: A rare congregation of stars will be on display when the Ranji Trophy resumes on Thursday with big names such as Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant agreeing to show up for their respective sides.
Rohit will be turning up for defending champions Mumbai after nearly a decade when action resumes in the second half of the country’s premier red-ball competition across different venues.
For the first time this season, the two biggest white-ball competitions – Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy – split the Ranji Trophy into two halves with each state side playing five matches apiece in the first leg.
With every team to play two more matches in the second round, a lot will be at stake not only for the sides involved but also for various national players, who have been clearly told by the BCCI that they cannot ignore domestic cricket anymore following crushing defeats to New Zealand at home and Australia in an away series.
Even though batting superstar Virat Kohli will take a few more days to recover from a neck strain before joining his Delhi teammates for the final round of group stage matches from January 30, Rohit is set to play for Mumbai under the leadership of Ajinkya Rahane.
At Rajkot, Delhi will face two-time winners Saurashtra where the mercurial Rishabh Pant will face off against his India teammates Ravindra Jadeja and Cheteshwar Pujara. The contest is a must-win for both the teams in Group D.
Punjab have one win to show from five matches which leaves them fifth in Group C, but the focus will be on India’s new ODI vice-captain Shubman Gill who too has endured a challenging phase with the bat.