Punjab in Ranji Trophy 2015-16: Harbhajan Singh-led side aims to put up better show

Punjab, in the upcoming Ranji Trophy season, is a young side led by giants of Indian cricket. Veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has been retained as skipper, and unfortunately Mandeep Singh was stripped of the vice-captain’s spot and has been replaced with another veteran Yuvraj Singh. Nevertheless, Punjab will hope to put in a much improved performance in the competition this time around after crashing out in the group stages in Ranji Trophy 2014-15. Last time Punjab won the coveted Ranji Trophy was way back in 1992-93, it will be a massive task — especially for the heralded seniors — to get their side in the top flight. Read all Ranji Trophy 2015-16 team previews here

Gurkeerat Singh, who has been included in the Indian One-Day International (ODI) squad to take on South Africa, following his impressive show against Bangladesh A, had a good season in 2014-15. He scored 677 runs at 56.41 in eight matches; including a century. Gurkeerat will be one of the key players for Punjab. His medium pace bowling  will come in handy, as he  can be a handful with the ball on his day. Gurkeerat is a solid batsman good batsman coming in at No. 6, with an ability to score at a reasonably brisk pace as well.

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Yuvraj might have had the sentiment of fans behind him as India were about to name their squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 squad, but Saurashtra’s Ravindra Jadeja got the nod ahead of him. Yuvraj, however, did not let that deter him from giving his best as he smashed 671 runs at 55.91, which included three tons and two half-centuries. He is also handy with the ball as his orthodox left-arm spinners fetched him five wickets last season. READ: Bishan Singh Bedi conducts coaching camp in Punjab

Harbhajan, on the other hand, played just three games last season, picking up a mere six wickets. It was highly surprising when he got picked in the Indian team for their tour of Bangladesh in July this year, and then against Sri Lanka as well. The selectors looked at his performance in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and perhaps decided to give the veteran off-spinner another shot to make a comeback.  Harbhajan will play the T20I series against South Africa and thus will miss out Punjab’s opening game, and as a result, Yuvraj will lead the side.

Mandeep Singh, who recently led India A against South Africa A in the T20 warm-up match, will look to continue scoring big runs for Punjab at the top of the order. He scored a brilliant 235 against Saurashtra last season, but was not able to make any significant contribution other than that. Punjab would expect lot more consistency from Mandeep as he bats in the middle-order. READ: Harbhajan Singh’s ‘Bhajji Sports’ to be associated with four domestic teams

Amitoze Singh and Jiwanjot Singh will look to make significant contributions at the top. Opening partnership is going to be vital this time. Manan Vohra played just a couple of games last season, but he might be given a longer run this time. The middle-order otherwise looks solid, with wicketkeeper Gitansh Khera coming in at No. 7.

Sandeep Sharma was rewarded with an international call-up, and he played a couple of matches for India in Zimbabwe, but was not that successful. He is, however, Punjab’s strike bowler and will be key in getting a few quick wickets at the top. READ: Harbhajan named captain, Yuvraj named vice-captain of Punjab Ranji side

Brothers Sidharth and Uday Kaul make it to the squad along with middle-order batsman Himanshu Chawla. Punjab have a lot of talent to pick from and their first aim this time around will be to make it to the knockout stages at least.

They start their campaign against Services on October 1 and then play the 40-time Ranji champions Mumbai. The matches against Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu follow. Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh too could spring up a surprise and Punjab cannot afford to take them lightly.

If Punjab click as a unit, they can do wonders in the tournament. They do not lack talent or potential, but what they need to do is step up to the challenge, especially for big games.

Squad: Harbhajan Singh (c), Yuvraj Singh, Jiwanjot Singh, Manan Vohra, Uday Kaul, Mandeep Singh, Gurkeerat Singh, Gitansh Khera (wk), Himanshu Chawla, Sidharth Kaul, Brainder Sran, Sarabjit Singh Ladda and Varun Khanna.

(Pramod Ananth is a reporter at CricketCountry. He has represented Karnataka table tennis under-15, and is a hardcore supporter of Liverpool FC. His Twitter handle is @pramz)