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KL Rahul set to make Ranji Trophy return after five years
Follow UsThe last time he played a Ranji game for Karnataka was way back in 2020, when he played against Bengal
KL Rahul is all set to feature in the Ranji Trophy after almost five years. He is added to Karnataka’s squad for their last group stage game against Haryana in Elite Group C of the competition. The match will begin from January 30 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Rahul last participated in a domestic red-ball game during the Duleep Trophy last year when he appeared in a losing cause for India A at the Chinnaswamy. However, the last time he played a Ranji game for Karnataka was way back in 2020, when he played against Bengal. The Indian opener is coming off a disappointing tour of Australia, where he blew hot and cold with the bat.
Meanwhile, Karnataka is currently placed third in their group after Haryana and Kerala. However, they do have winning momentum, as they crushed Punjab by an innings and 207 runs in the last game, which was also played at the Chinnaswamy.
If they defeat Haryana similarly, they can hope to qualify for the knockouts by bonus points.
Virat Kohli will also feature in the upcoming round of the Ranji Trophy for Delhi, where he’ll play the game against Railways. Earlier, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal had already played in the last round of the Ranji Trophy.
This is after BCCI and coach Gautam Gambhir stressed the importance of playing domestic cricket for senior cricketers and made it a key parameter for selection in the Indian team. The former secretary also wrote separately to the contracted and India A cricketers about it.
Karnataka squad against Haryana: Mayank Agarwal (capt), KL Rahul, Shreyas Gopal (vice-captain), 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.