Follow UsHe might have played no games for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL), but Shreyas Gopal is having a one-of-a-kind Ranji Trophy 2025/26 campaign where he’s threatening to put his name in the mix for the Indian Test side.
The 32-year-old from Karnataka has enjoyed a stellar season with the ball so far, with 17 wickets at an average of 20.88, including career-best figures of 8/110 against Saurashtra. However, on top of this, Gopal has managed to score 228 runs at an average of 57.00, with three 50-plus scores in four matches, proving to be an absolute rock with the bat in hand.
In Karnataka’s most recent encounter of the season against Maharashtra, which concluded today, Gopal was once again at the forefront as the team from the South clinched a crucial first-innings lead.
First, he added 71 runs with the bat in hand in the first innings - batting at No.7 - to take Karnataka from 194/5 to 313. Then, with the ball in hand, he ran through the Maharashtra top-order, removing four of the top six batters, to help Karnataka bowl Maharashtra out for 300 and take a decisive 13-run first-innings lead.
He then added an unbeaten 25* in the second dig to secure the draw for his side and send Karnataka top of Elite Group B.
So far this season, Gopal has remarkably been dismissed under 50 just once, with his scores reading 56, 3, 57, 16*, 71, 25*. And despite playing three away games, he’s bagged 20 wickets to his name, striking once every 52 balls.
The journeyman is on course for an India ‘A’ call-up, and could very well end up playing for the national team if he keeps this form up.