Ranji Trophy 2016-17: 5 players to watch out for

Ranji Trophy is one tournament that has always surprised the fans by producing numerous talents. It acts as the perfect platform for the fringe players who are waiting to showcase their skills and achieve their dream of representing India at the highest level.

The 2016 Ranji Trophy season is just a couple of days away and all eyes are on the International cricketers like Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, Suresh Raina etc. as they make a bid for a comeback to the national team by performing well in the Ranji Trophy.

Apart from these names, there is a pool of players who are expected to do well. Let us take a look at the list of players to watch out for in the 2016-17 Ranji trophy.

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#1 Siddhesh Lad

Mumbai’s silent killer, Siddhesh Lad. Photo credits: Indian Express

If Mumbai’s top-order fails, this ‘Lad’ will have to come to the rescue. Siddhesh Lad is someone who is not credited much for his contribution to Mumbai’s success in the Ranji trophy. The likes of Shreyas Iyer, Akhil Herwadkar, Suryakumar Yadav etc. are given a majority of the credits while Lad’s performances go unnoticed. He has created an impact which VVS Laxman did for India during his playing days.

Lad has been the silent killer in the Mumbai Ranji team as he silently makes a statement whenever he comes out to bat. Who can forget his 150 against Tamil Nadu last season when his team managed to score just 294 in reply to TN’s 434?

Lad is in good form as he scored an unbeaten 100 against the visiting New Zealanders in the one-off practice match against Mumbai last month. He will miss the first match due to an injury and is expected to return to the team for Mumbai’s second match of the season.

#2 Aswin Crist

Aswin Crist celebrates after dismissing MP’s Monish Mishra. Photo credits: The Hindu

People who follow Tamil Nadu cricket closely will know how talented Aswin Crist is. The right-arm pacer has been exceptional in the domestic circuit since his under-19 days. But he found it difficult to replicate the success in the Ranji trophy so far.

One of the reasons behind it could be the fact that Tamil Nadu plays a lot of matches at Chepauk, their home ground which assists the spinners. This season, this won’t be the case as the matches will be played at neutral venues.

Now that TN will be without the services of their most experienced fast bowler Lakshmipathy Balaji, the burden of carrying the young pace attack lies on the shoulder of Crist. He will be leading a pace attack that comprises the likes of M Mohammad, J Kousik, T Natarajan and K Vignesh and he will look to lead from the front.

Talent was never a question with Crist. He was at his best during the inaugural edition of TNPL and the team management will want him to carry on his good form going into the Ranji trophy.

#3 Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep Yadav is jubilant after taking a wicket in the Duleep trophy. Photo credits: Indian Express

Kuldeep Yadav became a household name among the Indian cricket fans when he took a hat-trick in the 2014 under-19 World Cup in UAE. Since then, the chinaman has never looked back as he has done brilliantly whenever he got a chance. He starred for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL and followed it with a string of good performances in the recently concluded Duleep Trophy in which he finished as the leading wicket-taker.

When the conditions were alien to the spinners, Kuldeep grabbed 17 wickets in 5 innings at an average of 27.88. The reason behind his success is that he mixes up his stock deliveries and the wrong’uns very well and that makes the batsmen think. Kuldeep, along with Piyush Chawla will be key to Uttar Pradesh’s success in this season’s Ranji Trophy.

#4 Sheldon Jackson

This will be a crucial season for Sheldon Jackson

Saurashtra’s wicketkeeper-batsman Sheldon Jackson has been the backbone of the team from Gujarat in the absence of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja. Sheldon might follow his Saurashtra teammates Pujara and Jadeja in the Indian team if he continues his good form in this season’s Ranji trophy.

The 30-year old is one of the most consistent performers in the Indian domestic circuit as he has scored 3102 runs in 41 matches at an outstanding average of over 54 in Ranji Trophy matches. One thing that puts him better than his fellow Ranji batsmen is his ability to score runs at a faster rate.

In the Duleep trophy, Sheldon accounted for 368 runs from 5 innings at an average of 122.66 and ended the tournament as the third leading run scorer. With no one to challenge Wriddhiman Saha for his spot in the Test team, a solid performance from Sheldon will make him the favourite for the second wicket-keeper’s choice in Tests.

#5 Mayank Agarwal

In-form batsman Mayank Agarwal. Photo credits: Indian Express

Mayank Agarwal is in sensational form and has scored runs consistently in the Duleep Trophy and the 2016 Karnataka Premier League. In the five innings he played in the Duleep trophy, Mayank went on to score 4 fifties and one century.

He is the second leading run scorer in the tournament (behind Cheteshwar Pujara who has 453 runs in just 3 innings at an average of 226.50) as he accumulated 420 runs in 5 innings at an average of 84. Mayank also ended the recently concluded KPL as the leading run scorer with 414 runs from 8 innings at an average of 103.5 and an extraordinary strike-rate of 172.50.

Adapting to the longer formats might be a concern for Mayank but the way he transformed from the first-class format to the T20 format showed that he is capable of changing his game according to the situation. With KL Rahul set to miss a majority of the Ranji trophy matches for Karnataka, in-form Mayank’s presence will give the team a big boost.