Top 7 performers in Ranji Trophy 2014/15

‘Probation period’ in corporate terms refers to a period during which a person’s performance in the job is closely observed and is evaluated at the end, before he gets promoted to a bigger and a permanent role in the organisation. Analogous to that is the Ranji Trophy in Indian cricket, where an aspiring national cricketer has to prove himself in the biggest domestic circuit for him to be chosen into the Indian cricket team. Consistent performance in this 80-year-old domestic tournament will most definitely leave a cricketer only a step shy of a national call-up. The recently concluded season saw Karnataka emerge as winners and lift the prestigious trophy.But, what would have caught the attention of coaches, selectors and the captains alike are some of the wonderful individual performances by the players from different teams.We take a look back at the top seven performers who were at their top throughout the tournament this season and showed signs of making it big in Indian cricket.

#1 Robin Uthappa

The walking hit over the bowler's head and the one legged pull on the on-side are some of the shots that clearly define this 29-year-old Karnataka batsman, Robin Uthappa. After being part of the T20 World Cup winning side in 2007, Uthappa had a spell out of international cricket and struggled to make a comeback. After proving himself in both Ranji and IPL thereafter, this attacking batsman earned a recall to the ODI side in 2014.

He continued his glorious touch in this season of Ranji Trophy as well and finished as the highest run-getter with 912 runs at an incredible average of 50. Nicknamed 'The Walking Assassin', Uthappa scored two centuries and four fifties and was a vital cog in Karnataka’s surge to the top. His knocks of 158 and 77 in the quarter-final against Assam are the highlights of this terrific season.