The Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) has named middle-order batsman Mandeep Singh the captain of the team for the upcoming Ranji Trophy 2019-20. He will lead the 16-man squad in the tournament, where Punjab’s first encounter will be against Rajasthan, which is slated to be played in Jaipur from December 9.
Shubman Gill has also been chosen and Gurkeerat Singh Mann has been named the vice-captain. The team has been announced for the first two matches and sees youngsters like Anmolpreet Singh, Sanvir Singh, Nikhil Chaudhary, and Mayank Markande, along with Gill being given the chance to return Punjab to its glory days.
Ranji Trophy 2019-20: Virat Kohli and Ishant Sharma named in Delhi's probables for Ranji camp
“The team has several youngsters in it. All of them are very talented. They have performed at the big stage and are important to our plans this season, " said Mandeep.
"The last couple of seasons haven't been fruitful for us. This season we are looking better at our performances and youngsters like Shubman, Anmolpreet, Mayank Markande, Sanvir Singh would be crucial to our chances. We have reached the knock out stages in both Syed Mushtaq Ali and Vijay Hazare and hopefully, we will do good in the Ranji Trophy. We have got a couple of exciting youngsters like 18-year-old pacer Ashwani Kumar and off-spinner Akul Pratap Pandove. This is going to be our season," Punjab Cricket Association secretary Puneet Bali said.
Punjab will play their second match against Hyderabad from December 17 at Dhruv Pandove Stadium in Patiala.
Ranji Trophy 2019-20: Suryakumar Yadav to captain Mumbai team for upcoming season; squad announced
Missing from the team is Sandeep Sharma and Arshdeep Singh. "Sandeep is not being dropped. He has been rested for the first two matches because he has played the entire Syed Mushtaq Ali and Vijay Hazare and has bowled so many overs," said Bali.
Punjab hasn't managed to reach the knockout stage of the Ranji Trophy for the last three seasons. Punjab last won the Ranji Trophy title in 1992-93 and has finished runner-up thrice - in 2004-05, 1994-95 and 1938-39.
Punjab Ranji Trophy 2019-20 squad:
Mandeep Singh (captain), Gurkeerat Singh Mann (vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Siddharth Kaul, Maninder Singh, Rohan Marwaha, Sharad Lumba, Ashwani Kumar, Vinay Choudhary, Sanvir Singh, Anmolpreet Singh, Anmol Malhotra (wicketkeeper), Akul Pratap Pandove, Mayank Markande, Baltej Singh Dhanda, Abhishek Gupta (wicketkeeper)
(TOI inputs)
