5 things to look forward to in the upcoming Ranji season

#4 Upcoming batting talent

Shreyas Iyer amassed 1321 runs at an average of 73.38 last year in Ranji Trophy

Last season, we saw a new name emerge from the oldest and most revered school of Indian batting, Mumbai. He was Shreyas Iyer. The guy amassed 1321 runs at an average of 73.38, but what stood out was that these runs were scored at a scarcely believable strike rate of almost 92.

His form took a minor dip in the IPL this year but what will be most interesting to see is if this supremely talented batsman turns out to be a one-season wonder or manages to follow up a stellar last season with a very good one this time too.

If that happens, we shouldn’t be surprised if we see his name in the Indian squad of 15 when Australia comes to India to play a series of 4 tests. There would be quite a few other names too who would be looking to make a big impression on the selectors and press for a place in the national team. The ones noteworthy would be:

- Mayank Agarwal, who made a big impact playing for India Blue in the Duleep Trophy and helped his team clinch the title.

- Manish Pandey, who has already made it to India’s one-day team but hasn’t got the nod from the selectors thus far for the longest format despite being a consistent performer for Karnataka over the years. One more very good season and his opportunity might finally come.

- Sheldon Jackson has been the corner-stone of Saurashtra’s batting in the past few seasons in the absence of Cheteshwar Pujara, and as of now, averages well above 50 in first class cricket. He scored tons of runs in the recently conclude Duleep trophy and the fact that he keeps wickets too can hold him in good stead as a contender for the no. 6 spot in the batting order.

Other than them, the likes of Robin Uthappa, Saurabh Tiwary, Baba Aparajith, Karun Nair and Sanju Samson will also be eagerly watched by the selectors to see if they can step up a few notches and stake a claim for a place in the Indian team.