Arjun is primarily a fast bowler and moved to Goa from Mumbai at the start of the season for more opportunities to play. Before making this shift, he had represented Mumbai in only two T20 matches.

Mumbai, who are 41-time champions have reached their 47th Ranji Trophy final overall and their first since 2016-17. Their semi-final tie against Uttar Pradesh was a draw, with Mumbai advancing on basis of their first-innings lead.

New Delhi Mar 24 PTI If Chennai Super Kings is a film then MS Dhoni is its screenplay writer director main protagonist with a fine producer in N Srinivasan who believed in his mans vision implicitlyBut after 14 years for the first time the word captain wont be associated with Dhoni as he relinquished leadership duties with a sporting entity which had become a part of his identityCSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan has told everyone in media that it was Dhonis own decision and one should respect itIt couldnt be more accurate as cricket historians curating stories on IPL and art of T20 captaincy may be a decade from now on will have two distinct eras --- BD and AD -- Before Dhoni and After DhoniThe only time one saw Dhoni with moistened eyes in a public gathering was in 2018 when CSK made a comeback in IPL Boy he was emotional and the connect was visible He is Chennais own Thala who can never go wrong He is a captain of their soul they believe he is Invictus Unconquerable and why not No IPL franchise has been a part of nine IPL finals in 12 editions Remember they were suspended twiceHis art of captaincy is based on two basic traits -- common sense and instinct The common sense was about never making games of T20 cricket too complicated while setting a template and consistent set-up in orderThe instinct part came with a clear idea of which player can perform specific roles and what is it that he is looking in them A lot of guts and some amount of game sense He never relied on analytics long and winding team meetings team catalyst baseball coach as power hitter and fancy termsThats why he relied on tried and tested international players and customised a few home grown himself Whether its Dwayne Bravo or Faf du Plessis or Josh Hazlewood or the likes of Suresh Raina Ambati Rayudu Jadeja or Ruturaj Gaikwad they were picked based on specific roles that they could perform year after yearHe understood that Deepak Chahar can get wickets in Powerplay and Shardul Thakur is a utility man He understood Moeen Ali could hit sixes on slowish track and the fast off-breaks at times will be helpful If CSK was madness Dhoni was its methodHad Dhoni wanted to continue he would have done that even this year too and no one would have even botheredBut that exactly is where Dhoni is different The case of perfect foresightCSK management read N Srinivasan still wouldnt have mind had Dhoni been ready to lead the Canary Yellows for the 191st time in the league and not be concerned about his batting form which has been on the wane for at least six years nowBut thats what makes MSD special For him there is nothing more important that CSKs interest and the decision is taken from a more pragmatic space rather than an emotional oneThere are a few things that one needs to be crystal clear about even as the captaincy is handed over to Ravindra Jadeja who has never ever even captained Saurashtra at the Ranji levelDhoni is leaving captaincy but not for once relinquishing leadership role The designation will belong to Jadeja as he is groomed for the role but the brain and the baton will still be with the man from Jharkhand with salt and pepper sideburnsSo why did Dhoni decide to quit two days before CSKs first match when no one was complaining if he would lead the side for one more year Months shy of his 41st birthday may be he has realised that it is not possible to play IPL to IPL with nothing in between the 14 to 16 high intensity T20 games annuallyHis routine during the 2020 and 2021 IPL is to arrive in Chennai this time it was Surat at least six weeks prior to the commencement of IPL and do hard intense training with nets and fitnessHe must have realised that he might just not be in peak physical condition to play all games this time and hence the grooming part needs to start nowThe logic is simple if Dhoni isnt playing all games it is better they choose a different leaderThis natural progression of leadership would have featured Suresh Raina had he not lost form completely and hence the next most dependable lieutenant Jadeja is being entrusted with the duty with Dhoni still an active playerIn this season when Dhoni takes periodic breaks it is expected that Rayudu will keep wicketsThe 114 runs that he scored in 16 IPL games for CSK last season is an indicator that with no Raina and Rayudu also not getting any younger Dhoni during the upcoming season needs to look at optionsHe will be helping out Jadeja ease into the role He will be that Player-Manager with Manager taking precedence over PlayerIf sources are to be believed the CSK had sounded out a current young India star to be a part of dual captaincy structure alongside Dhoni but the talks didnt reach its conclusionThis time Dhoni will be taking a bit of backseat but even with Jadeja at the helm the steering will still very much be in Dhonis hands PTI KHS BS BS

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 21 (ANI): Having had a strong and lengthy relationship with Royals Sports Group-owned franchise Rajasthan Royals over the past few years, Karnataka's duo of stylish batter Karun Nair and mystery spinner KC Cariappa are back in the Royals camp for IPL 2022 and are looking forward to contributing to the team's success.

Cuttack (Odisha) [India], February 16 (ANI): Ahead of their Elite Group B encounter against Baroda in the Ranji Trophy, Bengal coach Arun Lal on Wednesday said that pacer Ravi Kumar is a wonderful talent but he might have to wait for his debut.

New Delhi Jan 28 PTI A bunch of seasoned domestic cricketers starved of red ball cricket for the past two years couldnt hide their excitement after hearing that premier domestic tournament the Ranji Trophy will finally be held in 2022 albeit in two phases Organising a 38-team event amid the COVID-19 pandemic is a massive challenge for BCCI whose secretary Jay Shah on Friday announced that Ranji Trophy knockouts could be held post IPL in June while the league stage can begin as early as second week of February Staging the event in parts adds to the challenge but for cricketers who have been facing financial instability and not getting a platform to move up Indian crickets pathway ladder playing with the red cherry only matters Every domestic cricketer in the country is not thinking about the league phase or knockouts no one is thinking about bubble or COVID they just want to play Playing is everything right now and rest will follow said star Saurashtra batter Sheldon Jackson whose team has had an extended run as defending champions with the last red ball game in the country held back in March 2020 We all very thankful to the BCCI which has decided to conduct red ball cricket even in these tough times Only when you are able to play you can think of climbing up the ladder No doubt red ball is the toughest form of cricket but we all want to excel in it It will be a challenge initially but when muscle memory comes back we should be fine he added As per the events format each team will have to play five leagues games That can be completed in a month with three rest days after every match The quarterfinals semifinals and final can be held in June though the monsoon season sets in at that time of the year Chandigarh pacer Sandeep Sharma who is an IPL regular was recently down with COVID-19 after having to miss the domestic T20 event due to dengue He too is happy that Ranji is set to be played but said it will be a huge task for the BCCI to pull it off Only 200 players play the IPL but domestic cricket is played by many more It is important financially as well as for your career growth Since I just recovered from COVID I would hope no one gets affected by the virus during Ranji There are 38 teams and we have seen in the IPL despite all the strict measures the virus managed to enter the bubble In Ranji Trophy there will be a lot more teams It is a great step by the board and a massive challenge at the same time said Sharma Sidhesh Lad who has not found a place in the Mumbai squad this season said players will finally have the opportunity to showcase their talent It is a good news for players like us It keeps us financially stable also we have been struggling for opportunities for the past two-three seasons We are not able to showcase our talent unless you are part of the IPL or the national team For the last two three seasons no one knows that I am playing cricket because no one has seen me play said Lad who went to England last year to play club cricket He had also played in the IPL Other stakeholders including coaches and officials are also glad that the backbone of Indian cricket will finally be up and running Holding it in two phases presents a different challenge but it is still a positive development at least it is happening Your supply line of cricketers was being affected due to lack of red ball cricket and the situation would be worse if Ranji is not held for another year Saurashtra coach Niraj Odedra said Looks like there will be a one month break between the league stage and knockouts so we can use that time to organise a camp to ensure that players remain in the best shape possible for knock outs There will be rain in June in many parts of the country but the knockouts can be organised in north India but again weather will be an issue there too So BCCI needs to factor all this and take the final call he said The IPL is expected to begin in the last week of March which means BCCI is running against time to conduct Ranji Trophy Baroda Cricket Association CEO Shishir Hattangadi said the board could go back to three-day format for Ranji Trophy like it happened in the 70s and 80s to ensure the competition is completed in limited time It looks they might have to tweak the format to restrict movement and travel Given that the number of days available before the IPL they might have to go back to three-day format in league stage and knockouts can be of four days A full generation of cricketers came up playing three-day cricket That seems to be the best option given the limited time frame he said PTI BS SSC SSC

New Delhi Jan 28 PTI Former head coach Ravi Shastri on Friday said that Indian cricket would become spineless if the Ranji Trophy is ignored his comment coming just before the BCCI announced that the marquee domestic event will be held in two phases starting next month The Ranji Trophy was scheduled to start on January 13 this year but was postponed indefinitely by the BCCI due to the third wave of the pandemic The Ranji Trophy is the backbone of Indian cricket The moment you start ignoring it our cricket will be SPINELESS Shastri tweeted Just about a hour after Shastris comment BCCI secretary Jay Shah issued a statement confirming the phased resumption of the tournament The Board has decided to conduct the Ranji Trophy this season in two phases In the first phase we plan to complete all matches of the league stage while the knockouts will be held in June Shah said in a statement It is expected that the 38-team tournament will begin in the second week of February and the first phase will continue for about a month BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal after a meeting of the Board on Thursday had said that the body intends to hold the tournament in two phases This is because the BCCI is planning to start the IPL from March 27 and it will be practically impossible to hold the Ranji Trophy at a stretch Dhumal had said this after many state units and the BCCI brass held a meeting to discuss the way forward The meeting was also attended by BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and Shah The pandemic had played spoilsport last season as well when the BCCI could only organise two mens white-ball tournaments Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy The BCCI paid 50 per cent of the earlier match fee as compensation to all first-class cricketers who endured financial losses due to Ranjis cancellation last year PTI AT PM PM PM

New Delhi Jan 28 PTI Former head coach Ravi Shastri on Friday said that Indian cricket would become spineless if the currently postponed Ranji Trophy is ignored his comment coming as the BCCI grapples with scheduling the premier domestic event that could not be held last season due to COVID-19 The Ranji Trophy was scheduled to start on January 13 this year but was postponed indefinitely by the BCCI due to the third wave of the pandemic The Ranji Trophy is the backbone of Indian cricket The moment you start ignoring it our cricket will be SPINELESS Shastri tweeted BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal after a meeting of the Board on Thursday said that the body intend to hold the marquee domestic tournament in two phases This is because the BCCI is planning to start the IPL from March 27 and it will be practically impossible to hold the Ranji Trophy at a stretch Dhumal had said this after many state units and the BCCI brass held a meeting to discuss the way forward The meeting was also attended by BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah As of now the plan is to hold the league phase for a month starting in February till March and then have the next phase in June-July when the monsoon starts in a lot of parts of the country with peak summer in some other parts The operations team will work out the logistics and factor in the weather venue availability as well as availability of players We are very keen to organise the tournament and that is why we are exploring all possibilities to stage it without compromising players safety Dhumal added The pandemic had played spoilsport last season as well when the BCCI could only organise two mens white-ball tournaments Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy The BCCI paid 50 per cent of the earlier match fee as compensation to all first-class cricketers who endured financial losses due to Ranjis cancellation last year If it is not held this year it will severely affect the BCCIs feeder line like the India A team which is primarily selected on the basis of Rani Trophy performances PTI AT PM PM

New Delhi [India], January 28 (ANI): The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah on Friday said that the Ranji Trophy this season would be held in two phases, in which all the league-stage games would be held in the first phase.

Harbhajan Singh was not a happy man after India’s squad for the T20I series was named a day ago by the BCCI. Outgoing T20I skipper Virat Kohli along with other big names like Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammad Shami and Hardik Pandya were rested and new faces in Ruturaj Gaikwad, Venkatesh Iyer and Harshal Patel […]