Best Ranji XI of the Group Stages
The 2015/16 Ranji Trophy (Image Courtesy: BCCI)Every year, the Ranji Trophy throws upon the indifferent conscience of the cricket followers a bunch of talented domestic cricketers who, with their runs and wickets almost coax you to take a look at their efforts.Some cricketers were ground to dust for years before fame was bestowed upon them. Some never achieve the attention IPL stars get, but such is the fate of domestic cricket. This year, the Ranji Trophy saw some excitingly close chases, some spicy tracks and a lot of results and audacious declarations – courtesy the new culture of attacking mindset.Interestingly, one young batsman who stood out in the IPL last year, Shreyas Iyer, showed how class can handle T20 and the travails of the longer form of cricket with equal impunity. He piled on the runs, moving head and shoulders above others.There were the usual performers and some newcomers. 10 batsmen scored more than 700 runs in a maximum of 8 matches, while six bowlers picked up more than 40 wickets in a maximum of 8 matches.We take a look at the Team of the Ranji Trophy after group stages, based not just on how many runs they scored or wickets they took but also their contribution to the team wins. Hope it allows you to appreciate the strangely slumbering premier domestic tournament of the most populous cricket playing nation that was the birthplace of many a star.
#1 Robin Uthappa (Karnataka)
The former national team player is having a great year, becoming the first Karnataka player in Ranji history to score three centuries in three successive innings of a single Ranji season – 160, 148 and 148 against Rajasthan, Odisha and Delhi. Uthappa has 750 runs in 13 innings, most of them at the top of the order, at an average of 58 and a strike-rate over 60.
He has three tons and three half-centuries as well. Uthappa also made history scoring 32 runs in one over against Delhi, the second most in one over in Ranji history. That pretty much gives him a pass to this list as opener and backup wicket-keeper, although CM Gautam keeps wickets for Karnataka.