Tamil Nadu appoint Sai Kishore as captain for Ranji Trophy

Having already led the side in one clash last year, 27-year-old Sai Kishore has been named the new full-time Tamil Nadu skipper ahead of the 2024 Ranji Trophy season. The left-arm spinner will be the new face of the state, while rising star Pradosh Ranjan Paul has been named as his deputy for the season. 

“So if I have to lead Tamil Nadu, we obviously have very good players and representation. It is just that few calls and a few areas that haven’t gone our way, even when Indar (Indrajith) led us last year, we were very good. So, it is only a matter of time, and we will get it all right this year,” Sai Kishore told Cricket.com in an exclusive chat earlier this year.

Tamil Nadu haven’t made the knock-out stage of the competition since the 2016/17 season and only last won the tournament way back in 1987/88. However, the cricket association has made several changes to the squad, with the return of T Natarajan in the four-day format three years after his last appearance.

“I think we haven’t really performed to our fullest, but some players have done really well. This year, Tamil Nadu is very serious about red-ball cricket, we will be sorted this year. Everyone is very keen on winning, there is this aura as well. I think every problem will be solved.”

Kuldeep Sen, who joined the state as a guest player, will miss a few games early on in the season for personal reasons. M Mohammed marks a return to the squad a year later after he was dropped from the setup. Surprisingly, however, there’s no room for the all-rounder Baba Aparajith, who has been one of the mainstays in the Tamil Nadu unit over the years. 

Tamil Nadu open their campaign against Gujarat in Valsad starting January 5. 

The squad: R. Sai Kishore (Capt.), Pradosh Ranjan Paul, M.S. Washington Sundar, B. Sai Sudharsan, N. Jagadeesan, B. Indrajith, Vijay Shankar, S. Lokeshwar, S. Ajith Ram, B. Sachin, M. Mohammed, Sandeep Warrier, T. Natarajan, R. Vimal Khumar and H. Trilok Nag