Picking the best 11 of Ranji Trophy 2024 ft. Ricky Bhui and Sai Kishore 

India's premier red-ball domestic competition, the Ranji Trophy, came to a close with Mumbai stretching their incredible record to 42 titles with a convincing win over Vidarbha in the finals. The Akshay Wadkar-led side put up a spirited fight in the latter half of the contest, but it came a bit too late as Ajinkya Rahane and Co. lifted the title.

The evolution of the IPL has seen it become the primary avenue for selectors to hand-pick talent for the national team in shorter formats. However, the Ranji Trophy remains one of the most crucial parameters for players to prove their worth and get a Test cap.

The 2024 edition was memorable across several fronts. The second half particularly witnessed a strong turnout by the first-team Indian players, as they were issued an ultimatum by the BCCI to feature for the domestic sides when not on national duty.

Several players have made a strong case to be considered for the Indian set-up through a strong 2024 Ranji Trophy campaign, a majority of whom go on to make the best playing XI of the tournament.

Top order: Suyash Prabhudessai, Narayan Jagadeesan (WK) and Cheteshwar Pujara

Suyash Prabhudessai heads into the IPL for the RCB amid a purple patch following a prolific season at the top of the order for Goa in Ranji Trophy 2024. The right-handed batter scored 687 runs in seven matches at an average of 57.25, scoring hundreds against high-profile sides like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

Tamil Nadu's Narayan Jagadeesan has been a consistent performer in the domestic circuit for quite some time, and he had a spending Ranji campaign as well. The opening batter recorded 816 runs in 13 innings at an average of 74.18, the bulk of his runs coming in consecutive matches against Railways and Chandigarh in the form of a double hundred and a triple hundred respectively. He was not among the runs in the knockout stages, scoring only four runs in the semi-final, but had a solid season overall.

Cheteshwar Pujara participated in the Ranji Trophy after not being considered for India's home series against England. He ended up as the third-highest run scorer of the tournament with 829 runs in 13 innings at an average of 69.08. The gritty batter recorded three hundreds over the course of the season, including a mammoth unbeaten 243 against Jharkhand.

Middle order: Baba Indrajith, Ricky Bhui, Shivam Dube

Tamil Nadu's Baba Indrajith played a crucial role for the team in the middle order during their run to the semi-finals. He scored 767 runs at an average of 69.72, scoring two hundreds and four fifties.

Ricky Bhui was the leading run-scorer of the 2024 Ranji Trophy campaign, piling on 902 runs in 13 innings at an average of 75.16. Apart from his batting, he was also trusted with Andhra's leadership responsibility midway through the campaign following the feud between Hanuma Vihari and Andhra Cricket.

Shivam Dube, unfortunately, missed out on the final stages of Mumbai's title-winning campaign but played a huge role in the league stages. The all-rounder was influential with both bat and ball, scoring 407 runs in five matches at an average of 67.83 and a strike rate of 82.38.

With the ball, Dube claimed 12 wickets, half of which came against Bihar in the season opener. He was also asked to captain the side against Bengal, a contest where he led from the front, scoring a counter-attacking fifty and rescuing Mumbai from a tricky situation.

Lower order: Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, R Sai Kishore (C), Vijaykumar Vysakh, Mohit Awasthi

Shams Mulani was one of the all-rounders to watch out for at the start of the tournament and he justified the hype with a stellar campaign. He claimed 35 wickets in nine matches at an average of 24.62 and helped Mumbai with a couple of handy knocks down the order.

Recently crowned as the Player of the Tournament, Tanush Kotian was exceptional for Mumbai, especially in the knockout stages. He chipped in with 29 wickets in the campaign and also scored 502 runs while batting in the lower order.

R Sai Kishore's campaign may have ended in controversy following Tamil Nadu's exit in the semi-final stage, but that does not take anything away from his brilliant season. The left-arm spinner was the competition's leading wicket-taker, claiming 53 wickets in nine matches, 12 more than the second-most prolific bowler.

The pace duo of Mohit Awasthi and Vijaykumar Vyshak picked up a combined total of 74 wickets in the Ranji season and were among the best pacers.