3 lesser-known names who announced themselves this Ranji Trophy season

Twenty-three years after failing to take the final step and win the Ranji Trophy title, Chandrakant Pandit came full circle as under his tutelage Madhya Pradesh beat Mumbai to clinch their maiden Ranji Trophy title.

It was a phenomenal season for Madhya Pradesh - they had to beat Gujarat, Bengal and then Mumbai to bag the title and right through the season, a number of different players stepped up to be counted.

What needs to be mentioned here is that this Madhya Pradesh team is not reliant on star names and when players like Avesh Khan and Venkatesh Iyer were away on national duty, other players propped up, took up the challenge and emerged as heroes.

Indian first-class scene keeps churning out talent and the Ranji Trophy is the perfect learning school for these young talents.

Here, we take a look at three unheralded names that stepped up this Ranji Trophy season:

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#3 Saurabh Kumar

Saurabh Kumar was consistent all Ranji Trophy season

Saurabh Kumar is not exactly an unknown entity, as he was part of India's squad that toured South Africa earlier this year. He has slowly built a solid portfolio for himself. With his orthodox left-arm spin, he is more in the Rangana Herath mould and this season, he has bolstered his chances even more.

He picked up seven wickets against Karnatka in the quarter-finals and with his array of variations and changes of pace, he is just the perfect bowler to hold one end up. In three matches this season, Saurabh picked up 14 wickets and was certainly one of the players of the season for Uttar Pradesh.

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#2 Yash Dubey

Yash Dubey notched up a ton in Ranji Trophy final

It was a breakthrough season for Yash Dubey. He made his first-class debut four years back, but only started to open midway through the 2021-22 season. He responded with a superb 289 against Kerala in a must-win game.

However, he reserved his best for the final against Mumbai, where he played one of the most important innings of his career so far. He was one of five batters to amass over 600 runs this season. At the end of the season, he finished with 614 runs at an average of 76.75 with two centuries.

At a time when India have a number of different options as an opener, another solid season for Dubey could see him come close to the national setup.

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#1 Shams Mulani

Shams Mulani gave Mumbai the all-round balance

Shams Mulani, the leading wicket-taker this season, was superb for Mumbai right through. He did not have an entirely good final, but was the standout performer for his side. With the ball, he picked up 45 wickets in six matches at an average of 16.76.

He was also slotted in at number seven and played a number of handy knocks in the middle and lower order. In nine innings, Mulani scored 321 runs at an average of 40.12 and kept bailing Mumbai out of trouble on many occasions.