RANJI TROPHY | Kerala and Uttar Pradesh will aim to get their red-ball fortunes back on track

After the high of the 2018-19 season, during which it entered the semifinals of the Ranji Trophy for the first time ever, Kerala hasn’t qualified for the knock-out stage of the premier cricket tournament. During the same period, Kerala earned the reputation as a dangerous side, capable of upsetting top teams, in T20 and limited overs cricket and entered the knock-out rounds consistently in both Syed Mushtaq Ali and Vijay Hazare competitions.  A new Ranji season beckons and under the new coach M. Venkatramana, Kerala will be looking to replicate its recent success in white ball cricket into the longer format.

After the high of the 2018-19 season, during which it entered the semifinals of the Ranji Trophy for the first time ever, Kerala hasn’t qualified for the knock-out stage of the premier cricket tournament.

During the same period, Kerala earned the reputation as a dangerous side, capable of upsetting top teams, in T20 and limited overs cricket. It entered the knock-out rounds consistently in both the Syed Mushtaq Ali and Vijay Hazare competitions. 

A new Ranji season beckons and under new coach M. Venkatramana, Kerala will look to replicate its recent success in white ball cricket into the longer format.

The former India spinner is confident that Kerala can buck the trend if the team displays the required consistency and self belief during the course of the tournament.

However, Kerala faces a formidable foe in former champion Uttar Pradesh in the opening match of the campaign at the SD College ground, which is hosting a Ranji Trophy match for the first time, on Friday.

It is ironic that Uttar Pradesh too is striving to realise its full potential in red ball cricket after an underwhelming performance in the Ranji Trophy in the last couple of seasons. 

Uttar Pradesh with Indian stars Rinku Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, the latest IPL sensation Sameer Rizvi along with seasoned cricketers Ankit Rajpoot and Saurabh Kumar will be a tough opponent for the host.