5 Ranji Trophy Players Who Are Unconsidered By Selectors
BANGALORE: India is a country where cricket is a religion, thus each and every cricket match is being followed by millions of fans all over the world. With the recent form of Indian team and failing to win against protease the team selectors are under the scanner and are being blamed for their decisions. Thus let us look at five such Ranji Trophy performers who are being ignored by the selection committee as listed by SPORTSKEEDA.
Yuvraj Singh (Punjab)
The Dashing cricketer who hails from Punjab is known for his ability to hit smashing sixes all over the ground. Yuvraj Singh has been proclaimed as a World Cup winning hero for the country being the only player who has been awarded man of the series in U-19, T20 as well as ODI cricket World Cups. After the 2011 World Cup he was diagnosed with Cancer and returned to the game in September 2012.
His poor performances showed him the way out of the team but in the last Ranji season he played seven matches and scored 671 runs at a very healthy average of 55.91. In the ongoing Ranji Trophy, Yuvraj Singh smashed 14 fours and seven sixes in his innings of 187 off 233 balls, powering Punjab’s massive victory against Gujarat. With the team lacking a game winning all rounder no doubt he will be the right option to go for.
Vinay Kumar (Karnataka)
The right-arm medium fast bowler Vinay Kumar has captained Karnataka cricket team to two consecutive Ranji Trophy Titles in 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 seasons. The 31 year old has played 31 ODIs and a single Test for the country. From his 31 innings he had picked up 38 wickets his best being 4/30. As India is struggling to settle down a seam bowling attack his experience and ability to outswing the ball may contribute in order to demolish the opposition.
He was the highest wicket-taker in last year’s Ranji Trophy with 48 wickets from 10 matches at an impressive economy rate of 2.71. He has also become the first player from his state to cross 300 wickets landmark in Ranji Trophy. In the 2015-2016 season he showed his skills with a four wicket haul giving away only 80 runs against Bengal.
Shardul Thakur (Mumbai)
Shardul Thakur is a representative of Mumbai in first class cricket. He hails from Maharashtra and currently a member of IPL team Kings XI Punjab. He has also made it to the dressing room of ‘India A team’. The 23 year old might be the successor of legendary pace bowler Zaheer Khan since he got the skills to threaten most of the well technique batsmen in the world.
During the last Ranji season, in the absence of senior players like Zaheer Khan and Dhawal Khulkarni he took the responsibility of pace attack for Mumbai and accomplished the mission with 48 wickets from 10 matches with an amazing economy rate of 2.90. If given a chance, hopefully he will be an asset to Indian cricket in the coming years.
Rishi Dhawan (Himachal Pradesh)
As team India is lacking the support of a seaming all-rounder Rishi Dhawan from Himachal Pradesh might be the answer to all the questions. The first-class and List A cricket for Himachal Pradesh, Dhawan is primarily a fast-bowling all-rounder who bats in the middle-order. Dhawan has played for Kings XI Punjab in the 2008 IPL. He was signed-up by the Mumbai Indians in 2013 but returned to Kings XI Punjab in the following year.
The 25 year old has played 8 matches in the 2014-2015 season of Ranji Trophy and managed to pick up 40 wickets with an economy rate of 2.65. Being the lower order batsmen he is, he scored 287 runs with an average of 57.40. Inspite of giving nice performances he has been ignored by the selectors since Bhuvaneshwar Kumar posses a similar profile.
Shreyas Iyer (Mumbai)
When the team is in a hunt for young blood which can be destructive to the oppositions Shreyas Iyer from Mumbai should be put on top of the list. The twenty years old made his Debut to Ranji Trophy in the 2014-2015 season and scored a total of 809 runs at an average of 50.56 including two centuries.
In the ongoing season he has determined to out show each batsmen, with only four matches played he has already scored a double ton against Punjab which is the fastest in 82 years history of the game. He also scored 83 against Tamil Nadu and 173 against Baroda. He has also been awarded the Emerging Player of Indian Premiere League in 2015.
Read More: 8 Indian Sportswomen Who Created History
