Ranji Trophy: Six players to look out for in the Quarter finals

Vijay Zol

Team: Maharashtra

Vijay Zol

With the rise of Vijay Zol, India’s tradition of producing quality batsmen with a penchant of scoring big runs at the under-19 level does not look like ending anytime soon. But as players such as Unmukt Chand, Ambati Rayudu or even Shikhar Dhawan would have found out, the transition from the junior level to the first class level is quite challenging, and as of now, Zol doesn’t seem to be exception.

Barring the solitary double hundred against the minnows Tripura, Zol has scored just 210 runs at an average of mere 23. The southpaw has found the going tough against the big boys of first-class cricket and it is definitely not going to get any easier against Mumbai, where he would have to square up against the likes of Zaheer Khan. It would be intriguing to see how the under-19 star adapts to the intricacies of the longer format.

Zol has been chosen as the captain of the Indian team for the Under-19 world cup next month and the Ranji quarter final might just give him the necessary mental workout before the world event in the Middle East.