Young Indian batsman Shubman Gill is expected to play for his state team, Punjab, in the upcoming 2024-25 Ranji Trophy match against Karnataka. Shubman Gill's return to the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy comes amid growing discussions about the importance of India's stars prioritizing domestic cricket.
Shubman Gill struggled for form during the five-match Test series against Australia, as the Indian national cricket team lost 1-3. He missed the first Test due to a finger injury and scored low in the following matches. The right-handed batsman recorded scores of 31, 28 and 1 in the next two matches.
He was left out of the starting line-up for the Boxing Day Test for tactical reasons but returned in the following match. Shubman batted at number three in the final Test match but scored only 20 and 13 runs. Gil's performance has been disappointing throughout the series, with concerns raised over his consistency.
Shubman Gill is set to make his Ranji Trophy comeback after more than two years
Shubman Gill is one of India's promising cricketing talents and is yet to make a significant impact in Test cricket. He is set to return to Ranji Trophy after more than two years when the 2024/25 season resumes on January 23.
Punjab, the team he plays for, are currently second in Group C of the tournament, behind Karnataka, with both teams having won six of their first seven matches, separated only by net run rate. Barring the Duleep Trophy in September 2024, Gill has played just one red-ball match at home in the last four years.
He last played in the Ranji Trophy in June 2022 during the quarter-final against Madhya Pradesh, where he scored 9 and 19 runs at the loss of 10 wickets and even bowled more. This match was also his only appearance in the tournament after making his Test debut in December 2020.
Shubman Gill's leadership role in starting ODIs in India
RevSportz journalist Rohit Goglan took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to tell us that Gill is likely to take up a leadership role in the Indian team after the Champions Trophy. Goglan said that Gill's leadership role will start with the ODIs for India.
“Break – Shubman Gill will play the next Ranji Trophy match against Karnataka, and after the Champions Trophy, you will see Gill in a leadership role starting in the ODI (India),” Rohit Goglan tweeted.
BREAK – Shubman Gill will play the next Ranji Trophy match against Karnataka
And after the Champions Trophy, you will see Gill in a leadership role starting with the ODI (India)– Rohit Juglan Rohit Juglan (@rohitjuglan) January 13, 2025
Will Rohit Sharma play in Ranji Trophy 2024-25?
Apart from Gill, India captain Rohit Sharma may feature in the Ranji Trophy for Mumbai, but his participation is yet to be confirmed. The 37-year-old informed the Mumbai team management of his intention to join the training session on Tuesday. Mumbai's next match will be against Jammu and Kashmir.
“Rohit will come to training today with the Ranji Trophy team,” an MCA source told Hindustan Times.
“Rohit has not told us whether he will be available for the Ranji match on January 23. He will confirm that to us in due course,” the source said.
Read also: ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Rohit Sharma received brutal 'You're done' warning.
