Ranji Trophy 2023-24: Top 5 youngsters to watch out in ongoing season. Five youngsters who could be the next big thing in Indian Cricket.
The 89th edition of the premier red-ball tournament in India, Ranji Trophy has started in full swing with 3 rounds being completed for all 38 competing sides in both Elite and Plate leagues.
Vidarbha, Mumbai, Gujarat, Baroda (all from Elite), Hyderabad, and Sikkim (from Plate league) have been victorious in both of their respective games thus far.
The Ranji Trophy is an important event in the Indian cricketing calendar as this is the tourney that churns out budding talent to the nation much like IPL does. In the years gone by, players who have excelled in this prestigious tournament have gone on to represent the national team successfully and thus it can be seen as a nurturing ground for young Indian talents.
If not picked right away, Ranji's performance does give individuals enough limelight and loads of opportunity. Past India greats and present India stars have toiled hard in their early career for the Ranji trophy to be at a place where they are now.
Here are some of the young talents who can become the household names come the end of the tournament.
Pradosh Ranjan Paul (Tamil Nadu)
The left-hand batter Pradosh Ranjan Paul is touted to be the next big thing coming from the state of Tamil Nadu. Pradosh, the Odisha-born player has been making rounds but his debut India A performance of 163 against South Africa A at Potchefstroom. The performance earned him a lot of praise.
Both he and TN hope the youngster will take this rich form deep into their Ranji Trophy campaign as he will shepherd the team’s batting hopes along with the likes of Sai Sudarshan and other experienced pros. TN’s start in the tournament has been far from ideal as they are yet to open their account and have already faced a defeat in their opening game.
So, Pradosh will have to repeat or better his 2022/23 season exploits where he emerged as the side’s highest run-getter with 631 runs from 9 innings with 3 centuries.
Manav Suthar (Rajasthan)
Manav Suthar is a young and upcoming left-arm spinner from Rajasthan with a lot of potential. The 21-year-old who is more than decent with the bat down the order impressed everyone in his first full season of Ranji trophy last year. He picked up 39 wickets at an average of 20.33 from just 6 games in the 2022/23 season to become the highest wicket-taker for his side.
Though it didn’t inspire the team to proceed to the knockouts, the young spinner gave a good account of himself in both departments of the game. Like TN, Rajasthan didn’t have a great start to their campaign in 2024, and Manav Suthar with his exploits can revive the team’s fortunes by getting a rich haul of wickets this time around as well.
Sudip Gharami (West Bengal)
Bengal had a dream season in 2022/23 where they finished runners-up losing to Saurashtra in the final. They had a dominant run in the group stages winning 4 games and one of the reasons was the batting form of their top-order batters. This includes the young Sudip Gharami who along with established veterans Anustup Majumdar and Abhimanyu Easwaran formed the fulcrum of Bengal’s batting.
The 24-year-old batter who bats at his usual No.3 slot had a memorable season last time around amassing 803 runs from 10 games at an average of over 50. He ended up as his side’s 2nd highest run-getter and 6th overall in what was a great season for Bengal.
Sudip hasn’t had the same kind of impact in 2024 Ranji thus far with just 25 runs in 3 innings and his side is yet to win a game having had twin draws. Bengal will hope for a turnaround of fortunes for this young batter in the coming games.
Riyan Parag (Assam)
If there is a player who has lit up the Ranji Trophy in 2024, it must be the skipper of Assam, Riyan Parag. Though we are in the early days of the tournament, Parag’s returns have been nothing short of sensational.
In the side’s opening game against Chhattisgarh, the right-hander smashed 155 off just 87 balls in the 2nd innings to give Assam some solace in what was a disappointing game otherwise. He brought up his century in 56 balls, and this was the 2nd fastest ton in Ranji's history. Parag followed up with 116 against Kerala and sits 3rd in the highest run-getters list with 387 runs.
Still only 22, Riyan Parag has a long way to go in and has a chance to back up his 510 run season in SMAT 2023 with a prolific Ranji season before heading into the IPL. This could be the breakthrough year for Parag and could inspire Assam to a much better performance in the Elite group.
Umang Rohit Kumar (Gujarat)
As mentioned above, Gujarat has made a great start in their 2024 Ranji, winning both their games (against Tamil Nadu and Karnataka). They have had some all-round brilliance in their campaign thus far and one of the important cogs in the batting line-up has been Umang Rohit Kumar.
The youngster who bats at the middle-order has shown remarkable consistency by hitting 4 successive fifty-plus scores in 4 innings, including a 57 in the 2nd innings versus Karnataka which eventually proved to be invaluable at the end. The right-hander who has had a decent start to his domestic career in all formats has amassed 294 runs in the 2024 Ranji season and the team will require plenty more from him as the season heads further.