Courtesy: BCCI

Courtesy: BCCI

Indian cricketer KL Rahul is set to play in his first Ranji Trophy match in five years after getting included in the Karnataka squad for their upcoming Ranji Trophy 2024-25 clash against Haryana in Elite, Group C. At the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, from January 30th onwards, Karnataka are in a must-win situation, to give themselves the best chance to make it through to the knockout stage of the Ranji Trophy this season.

Notably, prior of the selection of KL Rahul in the Ranji Trophy squad, a report from Times of India stated that the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) President Raghuram Bhat, who is also managing Team India during the ongoing T20I series versus England, confirmed the player’s availability for his state team. He said, “"I am not in Bengaluru at the moment but from the information I have received, he is available for the last Ranji Trophy match.”

The 32-year-old had missed out on Karnataka’s previous Ranji Trophy clash against Punjab at home due to a niggle sustained earlier.

Karnataka’s Ranji squad against Haryana: Mayank Agarwal (c), KL Rahul, Shreyas Gopal (vc), Devdutt Padikkal, KV Aneesh, R Smaran, KL Shrijith (wk), Abhinav Manohar, Hardik Raj, Prasidh Krishna, Vidwath Kaverappa, Vasuki Koushik, Abhilash Shetty, Yashovardhan Parantap, Nikin Jose, Sujay Sateri (wk), Mohsin Khan

Delhi leave out Rishabh Pant from Railways clash in Ranji Trophy; Virat Kohli officially included

In other team news involving the upcoming round of the Ranji Trophy 2024-25, Indian wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant hasn’t been included in Delhi's squad to take on Railways at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Meanwhile, former India captain, Virat Kohli, who had confirmed his availability for the match a few days ago, is officially being picked by the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA).

While Delhi can’t make it through to the knockout stage of the tournament this season, their fans will be able to watch Virat Kohli in action before he shifts his attention to the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, scheduled to happen next month.

Delhi’s Ranji squad against Railways: Ayush Badoni (c), Virat Kohli, Pranav Rajvanshi (wk), Sanat Sangwan, Arpit Rana, Mayank Gusain, Shivam Sharma, Sumit Mathur, Vansh Bedi (wk), Money Grewal, Harsh Tyagi, Siddhant Sharma, Navdeep Saini, Yash Dhull, Gagan Vats, Jonty Sidhu, Himmat Singh, Vaibhav Kandpal, Rahul Gehlot, Jitesh Singh