As Delhi’s winless Ranji Trophy season ends, it exposes deeper cracks

Every season, Delhi seems to be writing a new chapter in the Ranji Trophy — for the worse. This season, once again, the national capital’s team not only crashed out before the knockout stage but failed to win a single match in their group. It was the seventh consecutive year that Delhi did not progress beyond the first round and the second occasion in five seasons that they finished their campaign without a win.

The Ayush Badoni-led team played seven matches, finished seventh in the eight-team Group D and bowed out early. Although Delhi lost just one match and drew six, the winless run left them just above another winless team, Himachal Pradesh.

Last season, Delhi had managed two wins and two losses in the league stage before falling by the wayside. This year, however, nothing went right from the start, with delayed and questionable decisions marring the campaign. The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) appeared to take little note of the team’s downward spiral, and no visible remedial measures were put in place.

In recent times, this was Delhi’s worst Ranji Trophy outing. It was the first time since the 2021–22 season that the side failed to win any of its group matches, losing one and drawing the rest — a return that saw them finish last in a four-team group. That tournament was played under a new format, a year after the coronavirus pandemic had forced the Ranji Trophy to be shelved for the first time.

Delhi’s last Ranji Trophy title came 18 years ago, in 2007–08. It has been eight years since they last reached the final, in 2017–18, when they lost to Vidarbha. Their most recent quarterfinal appearance also came in that season.

Delhi lacked teamwork

“The team didn’t combine too well. There were some brilliant individual performances, but the team as a whole didn’t click together at the same time,” DDCA Secretary Ashok Sharma told Patriot.

While Delhi’s batting largely held up, the bowling lacked penetration. The team did not bowl out the opposition twice in a single match — a basic requirement to secure victories — while rivals consistently piled up totals that pushed Delhi out of contention.

“To reach the knockout round, you must take all 20 wickets of the opposition,” said Ranji team manager Mahesh Bhati.

Delhi suffered most due to inconsistent pace bowling and the absence of quality spinners.

“Batting was okay; no problem there. But we did not have quality spinners. Unless we get a quality spinner who could bowl long spells from one end to share the workload of the pacers, we will struggle,” said Bhati, a former cricketer.

He pointed out that changes in the Ranji Trophy scheduling has also played a role. “The weather conditions for Ranji Trophy matches have changed as the tournament now starts late in the year, when winter is usually upon us. This has impacted Delhi pacers’ performance. In this scenario, we need quality spinners who could bowl many overs at a stretch — and maybe take a few wickets as well. If two pacers operate from both ends, it takes a toll on them.”

Inconsistent selection

Selection remained a major question mark through the season. There were murmurs within DDCA circles that certain undeserving players were picked regularly due to external pressures.

Critics point to the numbers: 25 players featured across Delhi’s seven league matches. Of these, seven played just one match each, while another five appeared in two games. This is the result of considerations other than merit. Only three players — Doseja, Sangwan and left-arm spinner Sumit Mathur — played all seven matches.

Despite the doubts raised by these figures, as many as 27 players had turned out for Delhi in seven matches last season.

Some DDCA insiders claim selectors were not always responsible for the churn, saying instructions came “from elsewhere”. The constant chopping and changing, they said, left players insecure about their places.

Individual brilliance

Despite the team’s abysmal showing, several individual batting performances stood out. Ayush Doseja enjoyed a memorable debut Ranji Trophy season, as did Sanat Sangwan in his second year.

Doseja made his debut after Nitish Rana was ruled out injured at the last minute against hosts Hyderabad in the league opener. Both Doseja and Rana represent West Delhi Lions, the champions of last year’s T20 Delhi Premier League.

If 32-year-old Rana does not play first-class cricket again, Doseja could, in a way, ‘emulate’ Mohammed Azharuddin. In 1984, Azharuddin replaced Sandeep Patil and made the No. 5 spot his own for over a decade-and-a-half. Patil never played Test cricket again after Azharuddin’s arrival. Doseja also bats at No. 5 and has shown the temperament for long innings.

Doseja, who struck a sensational double century in his first innings, finished the league phase as India’s leading run-scorer in the Ranji Trophy. He aggregated 949 runs at an average of 105.44, with four centuries and five fifties. “I am happy, but not satisfied,” said the 23-year-old left-hander, the only player to cross the 900-run mark this season so far.

Sangwan followed closely with 828 runs at an average of 69, including three hundreds and three half-centuries.

Among those still in contention to upstage Doseja or Sangwan, Mumbai’s Siddhesh Dinesh Lad is placed fifth on the run charts with 737 runs, including five centuries and one fifty. The two batsmen above Lad — Goa’s Abhinav Tejrana (788) and Vidarbha’s Aman Mokhade — are already out of reckoning as their teams have crashed out.

If Mumbai reach the final, Lad could get three more matches to overhaul Doseja and Sangwan.

Among Delhi’s bowlers, pacers Money Grewal and Simarjeet Singh topped the wicket charts with 13 and 12 scalps respectively. Injuries, however, plagued the pace unit. Grewal featured in only five matches, while Simarjeet played four.

Dressing room vibes

Delhi’s season began on the wrong note, at a time when much of the DDCA’s focus appeared to be on the T20 Delhi Premier League. Selection committees were announced just days before the opening Ranji fixture, leaving no time for preparatory camps for the Ranji squad or other teams.

In a couple of bizarre early-season instances, plane tickets for players and support staff were allegedly booked even before squads were finalised, as selection panels were yet to be constituted.

Delhi have not won a single title this season so far, and it appears unlikely that they will end this unwanted streak. Last season, the under-23 side lifted the T20 Trophy to save the DDCA from a blank year. This time, however, there are strong indications that Delhi may finish with the wooden spoon across national tournaments.