Shreyas Iyer on the verge of Ranji Trophy history

Ranji Trophy is obviously the most prestigious domestic tournament in India. It is the hub of budding talents, the stage from where a future star flourishes towards the ultimate. Over years, many players have left their mark with their performance in the tournament to earn for themselves a spot in the national side. With the current season of Ranji Trophy going on, the player who has delivered a stand out performance with bat was Shreyas Iyer, the backbone of Mumbai batting line up. Iyer has already become one of the top five players on the list of most runs in a single edition of Ranji Trophy, and is not a long distance away from being the top-scorer in a single edition. READ: Shreyas Iyer: The next big thing in Indian cricket

The record for most runs in a single season of Ranji Trophy is with VVS Laxman, who scored 1,415. Laxman started the 1999-2000 Ranji Trophy with a brilliant century against Goa and continued his run scoring frequent centuries and taking his team to comfortable victories. Laxman and his skipper Mohammad Azharuddin emerged as batting heroes for Hyderabad as they entered the final. Unfortunately, they failed to win the title as Mumbai defeated them by 297. Laxman, however, left a permanent mark with his batting; his record is still unbeaten. READ: Sachin Tendulkar proved to be of ‘immense help’ ahead of Ranji Trophy 2015-16: Shreyas Iyer

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Closely following Laxman is Vijay Bharadwaj, who scored 1,280 runs in 1998-99. It was, at that time, the most runs in a season before Laxman overhauled him the following season. Bharadwaj, in the season, scored 4 centuries and 7 half centuries which powered his side Karnataka to lift the trophy for the sixth time.

Next on the list is Wasim Jaffer, who remains the highest scorer for Mumbai. Jaffer, during the 2008-09 Ranji Trophy season, scored a total of 1,260 runs and fell 20 short of Bharadwaj’s tally. Jaffer played 10 matches for Mumbai during that season, and notched up 4 centuries and 5 half-centuries and took his team to the final. Mumbai won the final against Uttar Pradesh as Jaffer scored a much-needed 85.

At four is Kedar Jadhav, who has already won an Indian cap in limited-overs cricket. In 2013-14 Jadhav amassed 1,223 runs with 6 centuries and 2 half-centuries, and was one of the crucial players in Maharashtra’s journey to the final against Karnataka. Unfortunately, Jadhav failed to perform up to the mark in the first innings of the final; despite a gritty 112 in the second, he could not help Maharashtra lift the trophy.

Coming to Shreyas Iyer, number five on the list, it has been a similar story. Iyer has been the hero with the bat for Mumbai throughout the tournament and has played a huge role behind Mumbai’s qualification for the current Ranji Trophy season. With only the final left, Iyer has acquired 1,204 runs with 3 hundreds and 7 fifties. He is 212 short of Laxman’s all-time record, and a mere 57 short of Jaffer’s Mumbai record. Will Iyer be able to continue with the form and make this Ranji Trophy season a special one?

(Paulami Chakraborty, a singer, dancer, artist, and photographer, loves the madness of cricket and writes about the game. She can be followed on Twitter at @Polotwitts)