Speculation around Rishabh Pant’s participation has ended as Delhi has announced its 24-member squad for the Ranji Trophy opener against Hyderabad. However, Pant has not been included in the squad for the match starting October 15. The India wicketkeeper-batter, 26 years old, continues his recovery from a toe fracture sustained during the Manchester Test against England in July and remains sidelined from competitive cricket.
In the lead-up to Delhi’s Ranji Trophy opener, there were multiple reports suggesting that Pant might make his domestic comeback and even potentially lead the side during the tournament. Despite this, his name is missing from the squad announced by the Delhi & District Cricket Association’s (DDCA) selection committee.
DDCA secretary Ashok Sharma shared insights regarding the squad size, stating, “The selectors have named 24 because they felt that a larger pool is always available for selection during each game. However, when we play home games in Delhi, we will prune it down to 15.”
Captain Ayush Badoni
Ayush Badoni will captain Delhi in their match against Hyderabad, with Yash Dhull serving as vice-captain. Nitish Rana has been recalled to the squad, while Priyansh Arya has received his maiden call-up and is expected to open the batting in the tournament.
Regarding Pant’s future participation, the DDCA secretary added, “He (Nitish Rana) is an experienced player and the selectors wanted to check him out. In any case, he will play the white-ball leg. In fact, in the next game, we are expecting Rishabh Pant to play.” The second Ranji Trophy match for Delhi is scheduled against Himachal Pradesh commencing October 25, where Pant is anticipated to feature.
Delhi’s full squad for the Ranji Trophy opener against Hyderabad is Ayush Badoni (captain), Yash Dhull (vice-captain), Arpit Rana, Sanat Sangwan, Anuj Rawat (wicketkeeper), Sumit Mathur, Shivam Sharma, Rounak Waghela, Navdeep Saini, Simarjeet Singh, Money Grewal, Siddhant Sharma, Dhruv Kaushik, Pranav Rajvanshi (wicketkeeper), Nitish Rana, Himmat Singh, Ayush Doseja, Rahul Dagar, Hrithik Shokeen, Priyansh Arya, Tejasvi (wicketkeeper), Vaibhav Kandpal, Rohan Rana, Aryan Rana