Players to track in Ranji 2015/16

[Vijy]

Weigh in with the players that you are keen on following during the 2015-16 Ranji season. These players should be nominated bearing in mind their potential selection in the future for the Test team (not the ODI or T20 teams). Here are a few that I'm interested in tracking: a) Vihari and Bawne - two very unflashy batsmen who have never had chances in the 'A' squad despite sterling records. They are pretty young, but already have lots of FC experience, especially Bawne. b) K. Nair - looked an extremely bright prospect when he first burst onto the scene. Last Ranji season barring that triple ton was not that great, but I'm hoping he rediscovers his mojo. c) Vijay Shankar - has built up impressive resume as middle (or lower middle) order bat and useful medium pacer. It will be good to see how he does in the latter, and if he can evolve into a batting allrounder. d) Kuldeep Yadav and Amir Gani - two young spinners spoken of highly, esp the former. Both have enjoyed a good amount of success in T20s, but their performance in Ranjis will matter tremendously. e) Shreyas Gopal - promised much with ball, but his previous Ranji season was decent (not great though). Batting appears to have improved considerably - if this trajectory continues, may merit selection as an allrounder in the top 6. f) Jayant Yadav and M. Rangarajan - two offies with pretty decent FC records and good Ranji seasons. Both also bat to varying degrees. Former has had mixed success in 'A' squads. g) Amongst keepers, I don't see any standout performers. Bains and Bharat had excellent seasons but they may be 1-season wonders. Might be worth keeping an eye on them. Jackson and Samson are non-regular keepers, whose batting has usually been quite good. h) Can't find any young pacers who have been successful apart from Thakur and Stephen; both appear to be pretty raw and are not particular quick (though they are not as slow as BK and others). On the other hand, both Sivakumar and Sandeep Sharma are bona fide trundlers who may be useful on some types of pitches... or not; Sivakumar seems to be pretty tight and can bat a bit too. Other batsmen: Akshath Reddy, Shreyas Iyer, R. Samarth, etc. Other pacers: Rishi Dhawan, A. Mithun, etc. Other spinners: Purkayastha, Axar Patel, etc

[Gollum]

Good thread Vijy. I don't follow domestic cricket as closely as you but I do check it out now and then. I will be tracking the following players keenly 1. Baba Aparijith: Just 21 years old, impressed by whatever little I have seen of his batting till now. Decent first class stats, but need to see how he does in the coming 2-3 years. Also IMHO the best catcher in Indian cricket right now, even better than Rahane. I have seen him fielding at slip/gully for U19, TN and his catching is Mark Waugh like, so elegant and effortless. 2. Shreyas Gopal: Another youngster, good A/R prospect. As you said number 6 is still up for grabs. 3. Nair, Manish Pandey:cantstop:(call me an idiot but I still have hopes pinned on this guy, he is more than just a T20 star) 4. Vijay Shankar/Rishi Dhawan: We need a good medium pace bowling A/R, will add tremendous flexibility to this side Regarding others Vihari and Bawne have great numbers, hope they get a bigger breakthrough. Kuldeep Yadav, Gani, Iyer, Sarfaraz, Axar, Karn etc are ok only for the shorter formats. No offie is going to enter this team with Ashwin's place locked for the next few years. Keepers too I am not sure, you need to tell me more about the keeping prospects in India atm. No pacers :((

[tweaker]

I will like to watchout for.. Pawan Suyal. Left arm pacer.We need a good left arm fast bowler to bring variety in our bowling attack. Hardik Pandya. Pace bowling allrounder.Pandya has the potential to be a hard hitting batsman at no 6 & he can bowl above 135 kmph.If he add variety to his bowling,he could be the allrounder we are looking for. Gurukeerat Mann.batsman (finisher).Gurukeerat has shown he can be the finisher who can bat at no6 & guide the inning towards winning.He also can accelerate when needed & also is a useful part time off spinner. Ankush Bains Wicketkeeper batsman.I think Bains can be the wicketkeeper batsman after 2,3 years after a brief period of Saha ,Ojha .He is a good attacking batsman,don't have too much idea about his wk,but is very young,& has time to devlop his keeping. Kuldeep Yadav Chinaman.I find him very promising.If he get a full season for his state team,he can easily make into national team. Jasprit Bumrah. fast bowler.Had a good fast Ranji season,but last year was injured.He can bowl with good pace & has curiosity due to his different bowling action

[gakgupta]

wonderful thread vijy.... I hope our selectors are keeping an eye on these folks

[Vijy]

wonderful thread vijy.... I hope our selectors are keeping an eye on these folks

Thanks, I don't think our selector clowns will be doing that though (which idiot doesn't select Vihari and Bawne for "A" squads for instance). However, as ICFers and fans, we should do it.

[Vijy]

Good thread Vijy. I don't follow domestic cricket as closely as you but I do check it out now and then. I will be tracking the following players keenly 1. Baba Aparijith: Just 21 years old, impressed by whatever little I have seen of his batting till now. Decent first class stats, but need to see how he does in the coming 2-3 years. Also IMHO the best catcher in Indian cricket right now, even better than Rahane. I have seen him fielding at slip/gully for U19, TN and his catching is Mark Waugh like, so elegant and effortless. 2. Shreyas Gopal: Another youngster, good A/R prospect. As you said number 6 is still up for grabs. 3. Nair, Manish Pandey:cantstop:(call me an idiot but I still have hopes pinned on this guy, he is more than just a T20 star) 4. Vijay Shankar/Rishi Dhawan: We need a good medium pace bowling A/R, will add tremendous flexibility to this side Regarding others Vihari and Bawne have great numbers, hope they get a bigger breakthrough. Kuldeep Yadav, Gani, Iyer, Sarfaraz, Axar, Karn etc are ok only for the shorter formats. No offie is going to enter this team with Ashwin's place locked for the next few years. Keepers too I am not sure, you need to tell me more about the keeping prospects in India atm. No pacers :((

Pandey might do better than I'd thought initially - he's improved in ODIs a fair bit too, as seen from recent LOI record. Keepers in India - I really want Ishan Kishan to become something; records suggest that he is patient and an opener to boot. He's very young of course. Aparajith has regressed greatly in the last 1 (or 2?) Ranji seasons. If he rediscovers his mojo, it would be great for India.

[gakgupta]

Thanks' date=' I don't think our selector clowns will be doing that though (which idiot doesn't select Vihari and Bawne for "A" squads for instance). However, as ICFers and fans, we should do it.[/quote'] i haven't seen Bawne....but rkt has been backing him which means he has stuff But i THOROUGLY beileve Vihari can be very very good batsmen....not ready material yet but A tours are for fine tuning

[gakgupta]

Pandey might do better than I'd thought initially - he's improved in ODIs a fair bit too, as seen from recent LOI record. Keepers in India - I really want Ishan Kishan to become something; records suggest that he is patient and an opener to boot. He's very young of course. Aparajith has regressed greatly in the last 1 (or 2?) Ranji seasons. If he rediscovers his mojo, it would be great for India.

FOR ME...PANDEY SHOULD BE IN OUR ONE DAY SET-UP....ALSO HE IS VERY GOOD FIELDER

[Sooda]

Hopefully Shadrul Thakor can keep consistent over a period of time and not go down the route of other one season wonders. Of the Older guys Id like to see Mukund be smongst the runs, he should have been in the India Squad instead of Nair after Vijay was injured. Also Jiwanjot, hope he can hit the hieghts of two seasons ago. Totally agree with Bawne and Vihari, I wish these guys were in the A team but they arent as flashy as a Iyer so not the same profile- though they are far more deserving

[Vijy]

Hopefully Shadrul Thakor can keep consistent over a period of time and not go down the route of other one season wonders. Of the Older guys Id like to see Mukund be smongst the runs, he should have been in the India Squad instead of Nair after Vijay was injured. Also Jiwanjot, hope he can hit the hieghts of two seasons ago. Totally agree with Bawne and Vihari, I wish these guys were in the A team but they arent as flashy as a Iyer so not the same profile- though they are far more deserving

They are probably the best batsmen under 23 in all of FC cricket (for longer formats).

[BeautifulGame]

Baba Inderjith will get his breakthrough season this year I think Shankar - Aparajith and Inderjith will be the fulcrum of our MO batting next season

[Vijy]

Baba Inderjith will get his breakthrough season this year I think Shankar - Aparajith and Inderjith will be the fulcrum of our MO batting next season

If you're referring to TN, Aparajith has been doing poorly for quite a while. Seems more likely that Mukund will be amongst the runs.

[Vijy]

I will like to watchout for.. Pawan Suyal. Left arm pacer.We need a good left arm fast bowler to bring variety in our bowling attack. Hardik Pandya. Pace bowling allrounder.Pandya has the potential to be a hard hitting batsman at no 6 & he can bowl above 135 kmph.If he add variety to his bowling,he could be the allrounder we are looking for. Gurukeerat Mann.batsman (finisher).Gurukeerat has shown he can be the finisher who can bat at no6 & guide the inning towards winning.He also can accelerate when needed & also is a useful part time off spinner. Ankush Bains Wicketkeeper batsman.I think Bains can be the wicketkeeper batsman after 2,3 years after a brief period of Saha ,Ojha .He is a good attacking batsman,don't have too much idea about his wk,but is very young,& has time to devlop his keeping. Kuldeep Yadav Chinaman.I find him very promising.If he get a full season for his state team,he can easily make into national team. Jasprit Bumrah. fast bowler.Had a good fast Ranji season,but last year was injured.He can bowl with good pace & has curiosity due to his different bowling action

Bumrah has not impressed me all that much, but I saw him mostly in shorter formats. Mann and Pandya appear to be suited for shorter formats; although Mann did have a good Ranji season. Suyal... yes, I had expected much from him but injuries and selection seem to be impactng his career. Bains is pretty raw... didn't do that well in A matches. Kuldeep will hopefully get a good captain, balanced pitches and extended run.

[gakgupta]

Bumrah has not impressed me all that much, but I saw him mostly in shorter formats. Mann and Pandya appear to be suited for shorter formats; although Mann did have a good Ranji season. Suyal... yes, I had expected much from him but injuries and selection seem to be impactng his career. Bains is pretty raw... didn't do that well in A matches. Kuldeep will hopefully get a good captain, balanced pitches and extended run.

Bumrah....almost forgot him....he could be our malinga and sort out our dearth bowling problem

[Vijy]

Bumrah....almost forgot him....he could be our malinga and sort out our dearth bowling problem

Yes, he might play such a role eventually in shorter formats.

[Vijy]

Hopefully Shadrul Thakor can keep consistent over a period of time and not go down the route of other one season wonders. Of the Older guys Id like to see Mukund be smongst the runs, he should have been in the India Squad instead of Nair after Vijay was injured. Also Jiwanjot, hope he can hit the hieghts of two seasons ago. Totally agree with Bawne and Vihari, I wish these guys were in the A team but they arent as flashy as a Iyer so not the same profile- though they are far more deserving

Thakur has had 2 decent seasons (and not just 1) if my memory serves me right. Mukund has been doing consistently for a long time, but we have enough opening possibilities at the moment in SC. Same applies for Jiwanjot. Iyer is from the Mumbai lobby and he knows how to flash and flash hard.

[MCcricket]

Suyal B Sran A Choudhury Amit Mishra (pacer) H Pandya I Pathan S Warriers R Shukla Pandey Agarwal Iyer Sarfaraz to me could be the one Avesh Khan Chama M Monu Singh A Gani A Jaffer M Sayyid S Mundhe N Saini Vihari K Yadav Y Chahal S Nadeem D Hooda S Mundhe V Shankar I Pathan Veer Singh

[Vijy]

Suyal B Sran A Choudhury Amit Mishra (pacer) H Pandya I Pathan S Warriers R Shukla Pandey Agarwal Iyer Sarfaraz to me could be the one Avesh Khan Chama M Monu Singh A Gani A Jaffer M Sayyid S Mundhe N Saini Vihari K Yadav Y Chahal S Nadeem D Hooda S Mundhe V Shankar I Pathan Veer Singh

Of them, I wonder how many of the pacers are fit and playing, and also have regular spots in Ranji teams.

[MCcricket]

Most should be playing, have high hopes from Avesh, Suyal, Sran, C Milind, hope they make it to next level soon.Among batters Sarfaraz , Agarwal, Iyer, Hooda, K Yadav the Chinaman bowler

[Vijy]

Most should be playing' date=' have high hopes from Avesh, Suyal, Sran, C Milind, hope they make it to next level soon.Among batters Sarfaraz , Agarwal, Iyer, Hooda, K Yadav the Chinaman bowler[/quote'] Many of the bowlers you mentioned are pretty young, which is good. What do you think of CV Stephen? Had a good Ranji season last time. Amongst batters, I'm not sure about Agarwal in FC at all; Sarfaraz is pretty young and may take some time to get established. It will be interesting to see how Iyer and Hooda approach their 2nd season since they had very good 2014/15 season.