Gill Makes Return After 2 Years in Ranji Trophy

The Ranji Trophy has benefited from an unexpected sprinkling of stardust with several big-name India batters returning to domestic cricket looking to find form after their horror run over the last 3 months.

Top order batter Shubman Gill, who tallied 93 from five innings in Australia, will be seen in action in Punjab's next match against Karnataka in Bengaluru

Gill who registered scores of 31, 28, 1, 20 and 13 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. Missed Perth Test due to thumb injury, dropped from MCG Test, Gill could not even score 100 runs on Australia tour. He showed promise with an unbeaten half-century in the pink-ball warm-up game against Prime Minister's XI but could not replicate it on the big stage and contributed to recurring batting collapses

Gill's possible return to the Punjab fold gives him an opportunity to work with Wasim Jaffer, the highest run-getter in Ranji history who is now the Punjab coach. It comes at a time when his poor returns outside Asia - he averages 17.64 in 18 innings since June 2021

His return will shore up a squad that will be without senior players Abhishek Sharma and Arshdeep Singh, who have both been picked in India's T20I squad for the five-match series against England starting January 22 in Kolkata.

Punjab's hopes of qualifying for the Ranji Trophy playoffs hangs by a thread; they are currently fifth in Group A with a solitary win in five games.

During the series, head coach Gautam Gambhir had spoken about the need for senior players to show up in Ranji games if they were truly committed to red-ball cricket

Gill took the decision amidst calls from senior players and former Indian cricketers to play domestic cricket. Before the home season began with two-Test series against Bangladesh, he also played in one Duleep Trophy match for India A. 

The BCCI brass has also been vocal in insisting that stars should not opt out of domestic marquee events if the international schedule allows them a window to turn up.