Kunal Singh Rathore was named in the 15-member Rajasthan team for the first two rounds of the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 season, which starts on October 11.
The Rajasthan cricket team is in Elite Group B of the Ranji Trophy, the premier domestic first-class tournament in India and will begin its campaign against Puducherry at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Friday.
Rajasthan will then travel to Dharamsala to play Himachal Pradesh at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium on October 18. Hyderabad, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Vidarbha and Andhra round off Elite Group B in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 season.
Kunal Singh Rathore, who is part of the Rajasthan Royals team in the Indian Premier League, was picked in the Rajasthan Ranji cricket team for the third straight season. The southpaw made his debut against Goa in the 2022-23 Ranji Trophy season.
The 21-year-old Kunal had a good outing with Rajasthan last season, accumulating 245 runs from six innings at a healthy average of 40.83. He smashed his maiden first-class hundred against Manipur in January earlier this year.
The wicketkeeper-batter notched up his highest first-class score of 156 from just 138 balls and walked away with the Player of the Match award in Rajasthan’s innings victory over Manipur. He had a fruitful season behind the stumps too, contributing to 19 dismissals.
Deepak Hooda will continue to helm the Rajasthan side which has a good mix of young and experienced players. Apart from Hooda, the team will have the services of Deepak Chahar, Rahul Chahar and Khaleel Ahmed, all of whom have represented India.
Rajasthan Ranji Trophy 2024-25 cricket team for first two rounds - full squad
Rajasthan cricket team: Deepak Hooda (c), Abhijeet Tomar, Kunal Singh Rathore, Mahipal Lomror, Manav Suthar, Khaleel Ahmed, Kukna Ajay Singh, Arafat Khan, Rahul Chahar, Deepak Chahar, Aniket Choudhary, Bharat Sharma, Ram Chouhan, Salman Khan, Yash Kothari.
