11 cricketers who can have a stellar 2018-19 Ranji season

Domestic cricket lovers are eagerly waiting for the 85th season of Ranji Trophy, the premier first-class tournament in Indian cricket, which starts on 1st November 2018.

The squads for India's tour of Australia were announced recently, and the few fringe players who missed out will look to seize the opportunity in Ranji trophy to get selector's nod incoming tours.

Here 11 eleven players will look to show their potential and make the selectors take notice of their talents.

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#11 Jalaj Saxena

Fans who follow domestic circuit closely can easily say Jalaj Saxena is one of the best all-rounders in the current domestic circuit. The Indore-born lad was the leading wicket-taker (44 wickets) in the last Ranji trophy and scored more than 500 runs with his willow.

He will now look at this tournament as a chance to impress the selectors. Hopefully, he will still become even better under the guidance of Dav Whatmore, who will be the head coach position of Kerala Ranji team yet again.

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#10 Baba Indrajith

The newly appointed Tamil Nadu skipper is one of the less-known faces for those who do not follow domestic cricket closely. The stylish right-handed batsman is the important cog in Tamil Nadu middle order, along with experienced Dinesh Karthik, Kaushik Gandhi, Vijay Shankar and his twin brother Baba Aparajith.

He needs to perform well to clinch the coveted trophy for his side, which they haven't won after the 1987-88 season even though many fine players have played for them over the years. If he performs well, sure he will be in the selectors' radar for the senior Indian squad.

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#9 Parvez Rasool

Like Saxena, Razool is one of the best all-rounders in domestic cricket and he is the only one cricketer from Jammu & Kashmir to have represented team India.

With his accuracy with the ball and handy batting skills, he has the chance to represent the Indian team once again if he has a good Ranji season.

#8 Abhinav Mukund

Mukund has had short stints with the national side from time to time

Mukund is a well-known and established batsman in Indian domestic cricket. He has played for Tamil Nadu for more than a decade, with tons of runs scored from his willow.

He had a few chances with the Indian team during the 2011 season but failed to capitalize on them. However, he made a fine 49 on a swinging pitch at Lord's, as well as one fifty in the West Indies.

After that, he got a couple of chances during 2017 season, which again he failed to grab with both hands. Make no mistake, this is a player with more than 9000 runs scored at an average of 48.

The upcoming season will be one more opportunity for him to get into the Indian team, particularly after his scintillating performance in recently concluded Vijay Hazare trophy, where he lead the batting charts.

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#7 Ankit Bawne

Ankit Bawne is in the same bracket as Mukund. He has toiled hard in the domestic circuit for more than a decade.

Although he has a fabulous first-class average of 52.1 from 75 games for Maharashtra, Indian selectors are still looking something more from the Aurangabad-born batsman, which he will look accomplish in this season, to make a strong point for his selection in the Indian Test team.

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#6 Sidhesh Lad

After his stellar performances in the 2017-2018 season, Lad was nicknamed the “crisis man” and his recent performance in Vijay Hazare final will only boost his confidence going into the upcoming Ranji season.

If he carries on in this rich vein of form, he will surely be one of the middle order options for the national side.

#5 Navdeep Saini

Saini was selected in the Indian squad for the one-off Test against Afghanistan

Navdeep Saini was exceptional with the ball for Delhi in the previous Ranji season and was rewarded for his performance almost immediately. He was selected in the Indian squad for the one-off Test against Afghanistan.

However, due to the strong bowling line-up of the team, he didn't get a nod in the playing XI. This season, he will hope to perform for his state team once again to get recalled to the national squad.

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#4 Rajneesh Gurbani

When Ranji trophy 2017-18 started, no one would have thought that a team like Vidharba would win the title. The reason for their success was because of their cohesive team effort, more than individual performances.

Players like Wasim Jaffer, Sanjay Ramasamy, Faiz Fazal and Ganesh Sathish played their part well in the batting department. However, if you notice their bowling efforts, the one guy who dished out some stand-out performances was Rajesh Gurbani.

Although he had good support from other bowlers, he was exceptional with respect to his accuracy and pace. More importantly, he took wickets at regular intervals.

He bagged scalps wickets in the tournament, including a hat-trick against Delhi in final last Ranji season. If he can continue on his dream form, the seamer may get an opportunity with the national side soon.

#3 Karun Nair

Nair was unfairly dropped for the tour Down Under

Nair was certainly unlucky to get dropped for the Australian squad after being benched in the Tests against Afghanistan and England.

The stylish right-handed batsman has to grind out hard in Ranji trophy yet again, so as t=to make his case stronger for national selection.

His contribution will also be extremely important for domestic giants Karnataka, particularly after their disastrous early exit in the Vijay Hazare trophy.

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#2 Vijay Shankar

Vijay Shankar has been a genuine all- arounder for Tamil Nadu over the past few years. His injuries have haunted him in the past, making it increasingly difficult for him to make a cut into Indian cricket.

However, he still has a very real chance of making it in the national squad if he has a fruitful Ranji season once again.

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#1 Shreyas Iyer

This man doesn't need any introduction as he is already considered as a potential captain India in the near future. Although he amassed around 4500 runs at an average of 51 with a stellar strike rate of around 80, he did not get as many opportunities with the national side.

Now, he is in and out of the team. However, if he dominates bowling attacks consistently in the upcoming season, he is definitely one to play in the star-studded Indian test team very soon.

Other notable names who may shine this season include Abhimanyu Easwaran, Ravi Kumar Samarath, Priyanka Panchal, Krishnappa Gowtham and Mohammad Siraj.