Ranji Trophy 2024: Five contenders to win the prestigious title
The Ranji Trophy 2024 edition will be starting from January 5 and teams are ready to fight for the crown. Defending champions Saurashtra will look to make it two in a row while Madhya Pradesh and Bengal will give some fight. On paper, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh look elite but record 41-time winners, Mumbai cannot be taken lightly. Here we decode the contenders.
Saurashtra will be keen to defend their crown
Saurashtra defeated Bengal last season in the final to lift their second-ever Ranji Trophy crown. Previously, they won in the 2019-20 season, that too against Bengal in the final. They have also finished runners-up thrice in 2012-13, 2015-16 and 2018-19. Cheteshwar Pujara will only bolter their already balanced team led by Jaydev Unadkat. They have the players who can make a difference.
Madhya Pradesh have a strong lineup
The 2021-22 Ranji Trophy winners, Madhya Pradesh will also be one of the contenders to reclaim their title. They have a robust unit including Indian internationals such as Ventakesh Iyer, Rajat Patidar, and Avesh Khan. They also have a bunch of talented youngsters. MP won their maiden Ranji Trophy crown in the 2021-22 season after finishing as runners-up in the 1998-99 season.
Uttar Pradesh are studded with star players
Another team which has a lot of prominent stars is Uttar Pradesh. Pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has returned while the likes of Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Yash Dayal, Kuldeep Yadav, Kartik Tyagi, etc make this team elite. It will be important to see how Aryan Juyal leads this team. They have won the Ranji Trophy once in the 2005-06 season while finishing runners-up five times.
Can Bengal break their 34-year jinx?
Bengal have won the Ranji Trophy twice, their last title came back in the 1989-90 season. They finished runners-up 13 times. Recently, they reached the final in the 2019-20 and 2022-23 seasons, losing both times against Saurashtra. With Manoj Tiwary leading the team, they have stars like Akash Deep, Anustup Majumder, Sudip Gharami, and Ishan Porel. Bengal can be a dark horse this season.
Karnataka will be the team to beat this season
Led by Mayank Agarwal, Karnataka have every ingredient on paper to win the 2024 Ranji Trophy. They have a threatening pace trio of Vasuki Koushik, Vyshak Vijaykumar and Vidhwath Kaverappa. While the likes of Manish Pandey, Devdutt Padikkal, and Nikin Jose will look to pile on the runs. Karnataka have won the Ranji Trophy eight times, with the latest title coming in 2014-15.
