Ranji Trophy: Ravindra Jadeja To Be Part Of Saurashtra’s Opening Fixture Against Chhattisgarh

File photo: Ravindra Jadeja (IANS)

By ETV Bharat Sports Team

Hyderabad: India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja will play red-ball cricket even before the start of the series against New Zealand. The all-rounder has been named in the Saurashtra Squad for their Ranji Trophy opener against Chattisgarh. Jaydev Unadkat will captain the two-time champions side and will aim to get off to a winning start in the competition.

Jadeja has been named in the 16-member squad after India’s 2-1 ODI series win over West Indies. Jadeja has featured in two fixtures and picked two wickets without getting to bat. Now, in the Ranji trophy fixture, he will aim to get a valuable practice for the upcoming Test series in New Zealand.

The Wellington Test is set to be played from November 19-23 while the second game will take place from November 27 to December 1 in Christchurch.

🚨 SAURASHTRA ANNOUNCE RANJI TROPHY SQUAD! • Jaydev Unadkat (C) • Ravindra Jadeja • Harvik Desai • Arpit Vasavada • Chirag Jani • Prerak Mankad • Jay Gohil • Chetan Sakariya • Ankur Panwar • Sammar Gajjar • Parth Bhut • Visvarajsinh Jadeja • Hetvik Kotak • Neel Pandya • Arth Yadav • Tarang Gohel #SaurashtraCricket #RanjiTrophy #RavindraJadeja #IndianCricket #CricketTwitter

The 92nd edition of the Ranji Trophy is set to kick off from October 11. Saurashtra are placed in Elite Group B along with Andhra, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Hyderabad, Karnataka, Punjab and Tripura.

Unadkat, who will lead the team, is coming on the back of an impressive stint with Sussex where he picked 28 wickets across seven matches with an average of 22.21. His run in the tournament included a five-wicket return (5/32) against Hampshire and also a couple of four-wicket hauls. He will be leading the pace attack of Saurashtra along with Chetan Sakariya.

Notably, Saurashtra have retained 14 players from their squad of the previous season. Pacer Neel Pandya and all-rounder Arth Yadav are the new additions to the squad. Harvik Desai will be handling the wicketkeeping duties while the batting line-up will have the experience of Arpit Vasavada, Chirag Jani and Jay Gohil.

Saurashtra squad for Ranji Trophy opener

Jaydev Unadkat (captain), Ravindra Jadeja, Harvik Desai (wk), Arpit Vasavada, Chirag Jani, Prerak Mankad, Jay Gohil, Chetan Sakariya, Ankur Panwar, Sammar Gajjar, Parth Bhut, Vishvarajsinh Jadeja, Hetvik Kotak, Neel Pandya, Arth Yadav, Tarang Gohel.