Karnataka will begin its quest for a first Ranji Trophy crown since 2014-15 when it takes on Punjab in its opening Group-C match of the 2023-24 edition at the KSCA Rajnagar Stadium from Friday.
It will be a tricky first game for the home team. Though Punjab last won the Ranji Trophy way back in 1992-93, and hasn’t gone past the semifinals since 2004-05, it recently broke its 30-year title drought by claiming the 2023-24 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Skillsets may be different, but confidence is something Punjab will carry over.
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There are also experienced hands in Mandeep Singh, Anmolpreet Singh and Siddharth Kaul, and upcoming talents such as Prabhsimran Singh and Nehal Wadhera. India pacer Arshdeep Singh is in the squad, but it remains to be seen if he plays, for the India - Afghanistan T20I series starts just three days after the contest here.
Karnataka will thus have no time to ease into the premier red-ball championship, and with tougher tests ahead against Gujarat and Tamil Nadu (both away), it needs a tone-setting performance.
The outfit is, however, is in transition, especially in the spin bowling department. With Shreyas Gopal shifting allegiance to Kerala and K. Gowtham being eased out, the eight-time winner will have two debutants in Rohit Kumar (left-arm) and K. Shashikumar (offie), along with Shubhang Hegde (left-arm), who has featured in just four First Class matches.
It will be up to the batters and speedsters to do the heavy lifting, and in this, the previous season should provide hope. Skipper Mayank Agarwal accumulated a chart-topping 990 runs and was ably assisted by R. Samarth (662) and Manish Pandey (488).
Nikin Jose made 547 runs in his debut sojourn and the 23-year-old’s reward was the vice-captain’s role for the current campaign. The pace trio of V. Vyshak, Vidwath Kaverappa and V. Koushik, that accounted for 85 wickets, should continue its good work.
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