Gautam Gambhir abuses on discipline, KL Rahul to play Ranji Trophy & failures for Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant

The Ranji Trophy is back on the front pages yet again, as the Indian superstars had a rare appearance in the sixth round. Call it coincidence or not, but all the noteworthy players like Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Rishabh Pant had poor outings. Meanwhile, we had another Ranji Trophy update as KL Rahul, another superstar player, is likely to play the domestic tournament as well. Apart from this, a former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) player unleashed a scathing attack on current India head coach Gautam Gambhir, who apparently abused and heckled during a competitive match. On that note, let us look at six of the most eye-catching cricketing stories from January 22, Thursday.

KL Rahul back in Ranji Trophy!

KL Rahul is set to return to domestic cricket, joining the Karnataka squad for the Ranji Trophy match against Haryana on January 30th after recovering from an elbow injury. This comes in the wake of India’s 3-1 loss in the Border Gavaskar Trophy, which eliminated their World Test Championship finals chance. The BCCI has mandated national players like Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, and Shubman Gill to participate in domestic matches. For Rahul, this return offers crucial batting practice before the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy in Dubai. Rahul joins Virat Kohli in the bandwagon. Read more here: KL Rahul set to join Karnataka squad, ready to play Ranji Trophy on 30th Jan

Rohit Sharma continues horror show

After a horrible BGT, one hoped for some redemption for Rohit Sharma. But unfortunately, it wasn’t the case. The Hitman returned to Ranji Trophy for the first time since 2017 and registered just three runs to his name before going out in an unsatisfactory fashion. He failed to inspire any confidence and his dismissal was something that we saw during the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT). Incredibly, Umar Nazir, who dismissed Rohit, turns out to be a massive fan of the Indian captain. Read more here: Post-BGT blues continue for Indian stars: Rohit, Gill, Jaiswal & Pant falter in Ranji Trophy

Gautam Gambhir abused to ex-KKR player?

Former KKR player Manoj Tiwary has made explosive allegations against Gautam Gambhir, claiming he was abused and threatened by the former IPL-winning captain during a Ranji Trophy game in 2015. Tiwary revealed that Gambhir hurled insults, including derogatory language, and even took a dig at Sourav Ganguly, the then BCCI president. Hiwary also claimed Gambhir threatened to beat him up, saying “meet me in the evening, I’ll thrash you.” Tiwary has previously called Gambhir a “hypocrite” over his IPL successes. Read more here: Gautam Gambhir threatened to beat up and abused this India & KKR player

Sanju Samson is not safe?

Sanju Samson’s father, Viswanath, has made an emotional appeal for his son to leave the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) due to alleged disciplinary issues and a “targeted effort” to undermine his career. Samson was dropped from the Vijay Hazare Trophy squad and the ICC Champions Trophy squad. Viswanath claims the KCA is not “keeping it safe” for his son and has invited other state associations to offer Samson a chance to play for them. Karnataka is reportedly interested in signing him. Read more here: Samson is not “safe” with Kerala Cricket; father appeals other states to sign RR superstar

Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant fail as well

Two other consistent batters, who have been touted as the present and future of Indian cricket, failed as well on their Ranji Trophy return. We are here talking about Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill, who made 1 and 4, respectively. Incredibly, it was Ravindra Jadeja who ended Pant’s innings abruptly. Jaddu took a fifer himself, announcing his return with a banger. Read more about Ranji Trophy Day 1 here: Ranji Trophy star tracker: Rohit, Gill & Jaiswal fail miserably but Jadeja only “superstar

Arshdeep Singh on Shami

Mohammed Shami’s highly anticipated return to international cricket has been delayed, with the pacer not playing in the first IND vs ENG T20I. Experts believe Shami is still recovering from a knee issue. However, teammate Arshdeep Singh has revealed that Shami may feature in the next few matches, saying “just wait for a few more days” to see him in action. Arshdeep praised Shami’s impressive bowling form, likening it to his 22-year-old self. Talking about Arshdeep, he recently became India’s highest wicket-taker in the format’s history. Read more here: Arshdeep Singh provides big update on Mohammed Shami, says this..