Delhi have named pacer Navdeep Saini in their 18-member squad for the first two rounds of the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 season, which starts later this month. He is the senior-most player in the squad.
The Delhi cricket team is placed in the Elite Group D of the Ranji Trophy, the premier domestic first-class tournament in India. Delhi will begin their campaign with an away match against Chhattisgarh in Raipur on October 11. The team will host Tamil Nadu in the second round which starts on October 18.
The other teams in Elite Group D are Assam, Chandigarh, Jharkhand, Saurashtra and Railways.
Navdeep Saini, who plays for the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League, was in action for Team B in the recently concluded Duleep Trophy and finished amongst the top three wicket-takers of the edition, with 14 scalps from three matches. It included a five-for in the first innings against India D.
The 31-year-old pacer made his T20I debut for India in 2019 against the West Indies, where he picked up the Player of the Match honours. Later in the year, he made his ODI debut against the Windies. His first assignment in Test cricket came in 2021 against Australia, where he took four wickets. However, it’s been three years since he made his last international appearance.
Navdeep Saini has 69 first-class matches under his belt and has taken 198 wickets at an average of 29.01 and a strike rate of 56.3. He also boasts of six five-wicket hauls. In international cricket, he has featured in 21 matches across formats and has picked 23 scalps.
Himmat Singh will continue to lead the Delhi outfit after taking over from Yash Dhull earlier this year. They also have a new head coach in Sarandeep Singh, the former Indian off-spinner, who was appointed last month. Other noteworthy additions are rookie openers Sanat Sangwan and Dhruv Kaushik and pacer Money Grewal.
Delhi Ranji Trophy 2024-25 cricket team - full squad
Delhi cricket team: Himmat Singh (c), Ayush Badoni, Anuj Rawat, Sanat Sangwan, Dhruv Kaushik, Yash Dhull, Jonty Sidhu, Mayank Rawat, Kshitiz Sharma, Pranav Rajuvansh, Sumit Mathur, Navdeep Saini, Himanshu Chauhan, Simarjeet Singh, Hrithik Shokeen, Harsh Tyagi, Money Grewal, Shivank Vashisth.
