Ranji Trophy 2017-18: 10 unknown names who excelled this season

Semi Final 1 - ICC Under 19 World Cup
Anmolpreet Singh made his List-A debut in 2016-17 and his Ranji debut in the following year for Punjab

Like every year, this Ranji season has thrown up new names who performed beyond expectations, excelling in their respective departments to earn the limelight of the cricketing fraternity.

While modern cricketers grow up in the arms of T20 cricket, achievements in first-class cricket remain of top most priority and some young cricketers have ensured that they did not go unnoticed.


#1 Anmolpreet Singh, Punjab

753 runs at 125.50 in 5 matches

A graduate of the Punjab Under-16 and the Under-19 sides, top order bat Anmolpreet Singh first burst onto the big stage by carving out a sensible innings of 72 for India in the semi-final of the Under-19 World Cup in 2016, though India fell short in the final against West Indies. Before that, a respectable contribution of 41 against Namibia in the same tournament had shown glimpses of what was to come.

Soon, Anmolpreet earned a place in the Punjab side, making his List-A debut in the 2016-17 Vijay Hazare Trophy and stroking a rapid 58 off 41 balls, a knock including 4 fours and 3 sixes. Though that effort went in vain, he stepped out as a Ranji debutant the following season; and a 50 in his first match acted as a spark of three centuries to come.

A knock of 113 in an innings win over Goa, then 267 at over a run a ball against Chattisgarh in yet another innings victory and 252* against Services in a spirited draw announced his potential.

#2 Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, Saurashtra

34 wickets at 26.02 in 6 matches

Left-arm spinner Dharmendrasinh Jadeja has been a key member of the Saurashtra side since his debut in the 2012-13 Ranji season. In the company of his namesake Ravindra Jadeja, he has formed a very useful pair of left-arm spin for a team dependent on their batsmen Cheteshwar Pujara, Sheldon Jackson and new recruit Robin Uthappa.

In 2015-16, his fourth season in the top flight of domestic cricket, Jadeja shot up the wicket-takers' list by claiming 27 scalps at merely 24.40 in only 8 matches. That was a season in which Saurashtra made it to the final, only to be toppled by heavyweights Mumbai in pursuit of their maiden Ranji title.

Just two years later, Jadeja repeated the magic by going a step ahead and picking 34 wickets at 26.02 in 6 games. Though this time Saurashtra did not make it to the quarter-final, Jadeja made a strong case for himself by showing that it is not always about the other Jadeja.

#3 R Sanjay, Vidarbha

735 runs at 66.81 in 8 Tests

In his first 10 first-class games in three years at Vidarbha, R Sanjay had as little as 485 runs to show at 26.95 with one hundred and four fifties. After just eight games more – all of them in the current season – he has added 735 runs to that to go with three hundreds and two half-centuries.

With his captain and opening partner Faiz Fazal, Sanjay has not only stitched together lengthy partnerships to frustrate the opposition – they have twice put on over 250 for the first wicket so far – but also features in the top five run-getters' list in the 2017-18 season.

At only 22, another few years of consistent performance on the Ranji stage may be enough to earn him a national call-up, especially with India constantly having to shuffle their opening combination in the last four years.

#4 Vikas Mishra, Delhi

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Vikas Mishra also played for India in the U-19 Asia Cup in 2012

32 wickets at 21.50 in 6 matches

Another left-arm spinner taking giant strides in domestic cricket, Vikas Mishra took his share of time for earning a name. Having started out for Delhi as far back as in the 2009-10 Ranji Trophy when he was only 16, Mishra also played for North Zone in the Duleep Trophy and then India Under-19 in the 2012 Asia Cup in Malaysia. A haul of 4/18 against the hosts in that tournament was a fine contribution in leading India into the final, which they tied against Pakistan.

There were sporadic appearances for him in the upcoming domestic seasons, but once he returned to the Delhi side this year, he proved effective right away with seven wickets against Railways, five against Maharashtra, nine against Hyderabad and eight against Madhya Pradesh in the quarter-final. That shot him up to sixth on the wicket-takers' list this year, the best by a Delhi bowler and equal with a far more experienced Piyush Chawla.

#5 Rajneesh Gurbani, Vidarbha

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Rajneesh Gurbani took 12 wickets against Karnataka in the semi-final

31 wickets at 16.67 in 5 matches

Another of those little-known names to shine for a lower-rated Vidarbha side, right-arm pacer Rajneesh Gurbani began his Ranji career only last season, though his List-A debut had a come a year earlier. In his very first season at the helm, Gurbani sowed the seeds of what was to come with 13 wickets at 25.77. But this year, he has more than double the scalps with 31 and at a further enhanced average of 16.67.

Gurbani, with his accuracy and pace, has now bagged four five-fors in his last five attempts, including two against a solid Karnataka line-up in the semi-final. With hauls of 5/94 and 7/68, he enabled Vidarbha to come from behind and go past one of the favourites of the tournament.

In the company of India pacer Umesh Yadav, Gurbani has learnt and executed plans to perfection, credit for which he majorly gives to former India cricketer and his coach at Vidarbha, Chandrakant Pandit.

#6 Harpreet Singh, Madhya Pradesh

629 runs at 69.89 in 7 matches

Left-handed middle-order bat Harpreet Singh was the only shining batsman from Madhya Pradesh's line-up, having played all seven matches of the season. Though they got knocked out in the quarter-final, Harpreet raked up a massive 629 runs averaging nearly 70 with two centuries and three half-centuries. He performed when it mattered the most: knocks of 107* and 78 in the last eight game against a Delhi bowling line-up boasting of an in-form Navdeep Saini and Kulwant Khejroliya.

Though that went in vain, Harpreet rounded off a season where the big names from his team – namely, Devendra Bundela and wicket-keeper batsman Naman Ojha – failed to accumulate important runs to push for a win and make it to the semi-final.

#7 Abhishek Raman, Bengal

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Abhishek Raman hit big knocks of 176 and 155 in the 2017-18 Ranji Trophy

623 runs at 44.50 in 8 matches

A product of Bengal's Under-16, Under-19 and Under-22 teams, left-handed opener Abhishek Raman achieved two big hundreds in the season – innings of 176 against Himachal Pradesh and 155 against Punjab – after he had narrowly missed out another ton when he fell for 94 against Chattisgarh. His highest score of the season, the aforementioned 176, came on a seam-friendly Eden Gardens track where he added 163 for the fourth wicket with his captain Manoj Tiwary.

In the other knock of note, 155 against hosts Punjab with the likes of Harbhajan Singh in the opposition made him gain attention and took Bengal to an innings win. Though critics can claim Raman has thrown away multiple starts in the tournament – he has fallen for 40 twice to go with scores of 27, 33 and 36 – early promise from the 24-year-old means Bengal have found a dependable opener for the approaching seasons.

#8 Swapnil Singh, Baroda

565 runs at 62.78 and 20 wickets at 25.50 in 6 matches

A look at spin-bowling all-rounder Swapnil Singh's batting record for Baroda in first-class cricket will indicate a modest domestic career so far: an average of 28 with only two hundreds in 69 innings. He started out in the Ranji Trophy when he was only 14 but has had a mixed ride in nearly twelve years with his team. Consistency finally arrived this season when he notched up 565 runs with two hundreds and half-centuries each.

Baroda put up a disappointing display, finishing fourth with only one outright win in six group games, but Swapnil, now 26, stood out alongside Vishnu Solanki and Aditya Waghmode in getting good runs. He posted his highest first-class score of 164 and also bagged 20 wickets at a lowly average of 25.50 with his left-arm spin, conceding only 2.27 runs an over.

#9 Abhimanyu Easwaran, Bengal

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Abhimanyu Easwaran hit two hundreds against defending champions Gujarat in the quarter-final

564 runs at 47.00 in 7 matches

Bengal's other opener, 22-year-old Abhimanyu Easwaran showed early season form even before the Ranji Trophy began. Playing for India Blue in the Duleep Trophy, the right-hander got 127 against India Red, his highest First-Class score. When playing for Bengal against Services, he hit 65 before getting scores of 83 and 49 for India A in unofficial ODIs against the visiting New Zealand A side.

Back in the Ranji side, then came a brilliant 117 against Punjab; and just two games later, he hit twin centuries against defending champions Gujarat in the quarter-final. By virtue of knocks of 129 and 114, Bengal earned a first innings lead which they later converted into a humongous one, tiring the Gujarat attack in Jaipur.

#10 Chintan Gaja, Gujarat

26 wickets at 19.46 in 7 matches

One of Gujarat's youngsters who did fairly well in their title-winning campaign in 2016-17, right-arm pacer Chintan Gaja improvised this year despite his side bowing out in the quarter-final.

While in his debut season last year he got 13 wickets at 34.23, he exactly doubled that tally with 26 at a much better 19.46 in the 2017-18 campaign.

Gaja converted his only five-for of the season – against Rajasthan in Surat – to a career-best haul of 8/40, a match in which the visitors were thrashed by an innings and 107 runs.

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Edited by Sankalp Srivastava