Shubman Gill will feature in the second round of the Ranji Trophy and will be in action in the home game against Chhattisgarh, starting October 18. Gill,
India's present Test and ODI captain, will play under Uday Saharan's captaincy. Saharan has been appointed Punjab's captain and he will continue to lead the team. He captained India U19 to the final of the 2024 World Cup. Gill will only play one Ranji Trophy before flying to New Zealand for the Test and ODI series. He isn't part of the T20I team now. Gill won't feature for India A in any of the three unofficial Tests. After leading India in three ODIs, he will leave the camp to kick off his preparations for the Test series. Shreyas Iyer will lead India in the last two ODIs. The five ODIs are scheduled to be played on November on November 4, 7, 10, 13 and 15. The first Test match will take place at the Basin Reserve in Wellington from November 19 to 23. Christchurch's Hagley Ovall will host the second Test match from November 27 to December 1. Before the Test series, the two teams will square off in five T20Is, to be played on October 22, 24, 27, 30 and November 1. Gill was removed from vice-captaincy and dropped from the T20I team before the 2026 World Cup.
Punjab drew their first game
Punjab kicked off their Ranji Trophy campaign with a draw against Assam. The home team took a first innings lead. Asked to bat first, Assam put on a total of 373 on the board.
Vihaan Malhotra and Salil Arora slammed centuries as Punjab declared their innings for 478/6. Assam avoided a win and they were four down at 157 at the end of fourth day's play. Umesh Yadav, who now plays for Punjab, scalped seven wickets in the fixture.
Squad: Uday Saharan (Captain), Harnoor Pannu, Vihaan Malhotra, Shubman Gill, Jashanpreet Sidhu, Salil Arora (wk), Prabhsimran Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Harpreet Brar, Emanjot Chahal, Harjas Tandon, Gurnoor Brar, Gursimran Singh, Sanvir Singh, Umesh Yadav
