In order to secure his availability for Karnataka in the current Ranji Trophy 2025–26 season, star Indian batsman KL Rahul is scheduled to make a comeback to local red-ball cricket. Beginning on January 29 in Mullanpur, the right-handed batter will play in Karnataka’s Group D matchup with Punjab.
KL Rahul is anticipated to join the team for the Punjab encounter, but he will miss Karnataka’s January 22 match against Madhya Pradesh in Alur, according to a Times of India report.
The ruling is in line with the BCCI’s emphasis on elite players competing in domestic competitions, especially those who are not already serving on international teams. India’s Test skipper Shubman Gill is expected to play for Punjab in the same match as Karnataka, which is already creating a lot of interest.
Gill has already joined Punjab for their match against Saurashtra in Rajkot on January 22. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja of India will also be playing. Earlier, after being left out of India’s T20 World Cup plans, Gill decided to optimise his red-ball game time.
Punjab, in particular, has a challenging qualification road. To maintain their chances of making the knockout stage, they must win two of their remaining group matches, which would be difficult given their matches against formidable opponents like Karnataka and Saurashtra.
Nitish Kumar Reddy, an all-rounder, will also play for Andhra in their remaining group games against Vidarbha and Nagaland. With a solid possibility of making it to the knockout stages, Andhra is presently ranked second in Group A. The Indian team management is considering Reddy as a possible backup for Hardik Pandya in the limited-overs setup after he recently produced a half-century in the ODI series against New Zealand.
Interestingly, Rishabh Pant, the vice captain of the Indian Test team, is not expected to compete in the Ranji Trophy. He is anticipated to travel to the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru to continue his recuperation after being left out of Delhi’s team for their match against Chhattisgarh.
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