Ace India batter KL Rahul will feature for Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy final round starting January 30, while newly-appointed ODI vice-captain Shubman Gill will miss his state team’s last game before the knockouts. Other ODI stars, including Virat Kohli and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, would also feature for their respective teams in the domestic tournament.
KL Rahul missed Karnataka's last league game (against the touring Punjab) due to a niggle, with the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) President Raghuram Bhat confirming the India keeper-batter will play the final match against Haryana at the M Chinnaswamy in Bengaluru.
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"I am not in Bengaluru at the moment, but from the information I have received, he is available for the last Ranji Trophy match," Bhat said as quoted by the Times of India (TOI).
KL Rahul last played during the final Test against Australia in Sydney, which India lost by six wickets, conceding the BGT for the first time in ten years.
Though he impressed in the series opener in Perth, especially in the second innings, scoring a gritty 77, KL Rahul failed to contribute with the bat in the remaining matches.
Now that he is named in India’s 15-man squad for the England ODIs and the Champions Trophy (in Pakistan) that follows, Rahul must grind hard in the domestic to return to white-ball form, crucial for him and India’s chances in the first showpiece event of the year.
Given the BCCI selectors also named Rishabh Pant in the final 15, Rahul might retain his place in the XI as the keeper-batter, a role he succeeded in during the home ODI World Cup 14 months ago.
Meanwhile, Rahul’s return to the Ranji side will boost Karnataka’s chances of qualifying for the knockouts, needing a bonus-point win over the table-toppers Haryana.
Who else to play Ranji’s last round?
Although there is no official word on Rohit and Yashasvi Jaiswal’s availability confirmation for Mumbai’s last Ranji Trophy game (against Meghalaya at home), star batter Virat Kohli is confirmed to feature for Delhi for the first time since November 2012. Gloveman Pant will play the last match for his state side.
On the other hand, Ravindra Jadeja, another CT-bound squad player who helped Saurashtra beat Delhi with a 12-wicket haul, is confirmed to play the last league game for his team.
(With inputs from agencies)