A lot of stars will be missing in action as teams gear up for the business end of the Ranji Trophy with the third round starting from Tuesday.
Teams like Karnataka, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Mumbai are the biggest sufferers because of India’s Australia tour and India A team’s New Zealand tour.
The missing stars
Ishant Sharma: BCCI has reportedly directed Ishant Sharma not to take part in Delhi’s Ranji Trophy fixture against Hyderabad to stay fit for the four-match Test series against Australia starting from December 6. Ishant had turned up for Delhi in their opening match against Himachal.
R Ashwin: India’s premiere off-spin R Ashwin too like Ishant has been advised by BCCI to rest before the Australia tour. Ashwin, who is no longer considered for ODIs and T20Is played in Tamil Nadu’s opening fixture against Madhya Pradesh where he took 4 for 85 in 38.4 overs in the first week of November. The Indian Test specialists are slated to fly to Australia on November 24.
Murali Vijay: The Indian opener is currently in New Zealand for an Unofficial Test for India A against New Zealand which ended in a draw on Monday. Vijay scored a half-century in the second innings.
Vijay Shankar: Tamil Nadu all-rounder Vijay Shankar too is in New Zealand with the India A side and will miss their next match.
Gautam Gambhir: Delhi opener Gambhir, who scored 44 and 49 in their opening game against Himachal, is suffering from a shoulder niggle and has decided excuse himself from the away encounter against Hyderabad.
Prithvi Shaw and Shreyas Iyer: Mumbai too will be without Prithvi Shaw and Shreyas Iyer. Shaw is currently with India A in New Zealand, while Iyer is part of the T20I squad in Australia.
Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, R Samarth: Karnataka have been severely dented by India A’s New Zealand tour. While their batting pillars KL Rahul and Manish Pandey were already out because of national duties, now their other mainstays Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair and R Samarth will miss next match against Mumbai because all of them are in New Zealand with India A side.
The Silver lining
Mohammad Shami: Mohammad Shami is the only Indian Test cricketer allowed to play the third round of Ranji Trophy. Shami will turn up for Bengal in their home match against Kerala. However, the BCCI has directed the Bengal team management to manage Shami’s workload by not bowling him more than 15 overs a day.