The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) has announced the Karnataka squad for the upcoming first round of the Ranji Trophy's 2025-26 season. This clash will be played Saurashtra at the Niranjan Shah Stadium Ground B in Rajkot from October 15. The 15-man squad will be led by dynamic batter Mayank Agarwal, meaning no changes on the leadership front. The biggest news, however, is the return of ace batter Karun Nair to his home side after spending a couple of seasons with Vidarbha.
Notably, Nair
was ignored by the KSCA selectors for a place in the side after the 2022 season, as he had to switch his base from his home state to Vidarbha. The Jodhpur-born made the most out of this opportunity, scoring truckloads of runs from the champion side across formats, including a record-breaking feat in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025, where Vidarbha lost to Karnataka in the finals.
Nair then played for the Indian team that toured to the United Kingdom for five-Tests series against England. However, after a few poor outings on his national comeback, Nair was once again dropped from the squad that is currently hosting the West Indies. However, Nair would want to use the Ranji Trophy as a perfect platform to announce that he truly deserves another chance.
Prasidh Krishna, KL Rahul not considered
Speaking more of the Karnataka squad, stars like Shreyas Gopal, Vyshak Vijaykumar and Vidwath Kaverappa have also made it through, whereas, Prasidh Krishna and KL Rahul couldn't make the cut due to their commitments with the Indian team. Both the India stars are part of the probables for the season. Meanwhile, Abhinav Manohar has also gotten a spot, while Krishnan Shrijith is the first-choice wicketkeeper in the unit.
Karnataka squad for first round of Ranji Trophy 2025-26: Mayank Agarwal (captain), Karun Nair, R Smaran, KL Shrijith (wk), Shreyas Gopal, Vyshak Vijayakumar, Vidwath Kaverappa, Abhilash Shetty, M Venkatesh, Nikin Jose, Abhinav Manohar, Kruthik Krishna (wk), KV Aneesh, Mohsin Khan, Shikhar Shetty
