New Chandigarh, Oct 18 (IANS) India’s Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill’s much-anticipated return to the Ranji Trophy ended in disappointment as he was castled for one by left-arm spinner Ajay Mandal in Punjab’s ongoing second-round Elite Group B match against Chhattisgarh at the New PCA Stadium here on Sunday.
Coming in at number four, after Vihaan Malhotra was trapped lbw by Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, Gill lasted just five balls and made one run before Mandal beat him on the third ball of the 27th over with a delivery that held its line and slipped through the gate to hit the middle stump.
Gill, 27, had skipped Punjab’s opening game of the season against Assam but made himself available for the clash against Chhattisgarh to get some red-ball practice ahead of India’s tour of New Zealand.
Though Gill is not in the T20I squad, he will be a part of India, playing five ODIs and two Tests on the tour, which forms a crucial part of their build-up to the 2027 ODI World Cup and also aim to keep their hopes alive in the race for a World Test Championship (WTC) final berth.
Gill, though, will play only three ODIs before missing the last two games to prepare well for the Test series to be played in Christchurch and Wellington. Elsewhere, veteran pacer Mohammed Shami has missed Bengal’s ongoing match against Services at the Air Force Complex ground in Palam. Shami had trained with the Bengal squad on Saturday, but there was no official word for his absence from Bengal’s second round clash.
His younger brother Mohammed Kaif came into the playing eleven in his absence. Shami had made an impressive start to the season by claiming five wickets, including a four-wicket haul, in Bengal’s opening game against Delhi in Kalyani.
Bengal were also without pacers Akash Deep and Mukesh Kumar, who have left for New Zealand to be a part of India A team for the red-ball series. Shami has been a regular for Bengal in the last and this domestic season and was also part of the East Zone side that won the Duleep Trophy 2026-27. But has not played for India since the 2025 Champions Trophy and was once again overlooked for the upcoming tour of New Zealand.
–IANS
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