• Home
  • Cricket News
  • Nitish Rana Returns Ayush Badoni To Lead As Delhi Reveal 24 Member Ranji Trophy Squad

Nitish Rana returns, Ayush Badoni to lead as Delhi reveal 24-member Ranji Trophy squad

Soumyajit Dutta

Nitish Rana [Source: @toisports/X.com]Nitish Rana [Source: @toisports/X.com]

In a major development, a record-breaking 24-member squad has been announced for Delhi's first Ranji Trophy season opener against Hyderabad that will start from October 15. The match, which will see the two premier domestic teams clash against each other, will have its first Test at the NexGen Cricket Ground in Hyderabad.

Notably, the team will be led by young sensation Ayush Badoni, and Yash Dhull will be his deputy. In another development, Nitish Rana makes it to the squad too after his brief stint with Uttar Pradesh. Hyderabad's squad, meanwhile, will feature Asia Cup 2025 hero Tilak Varma, who is also set to lead the team.

Delhi's sensational squad features massive names

The squad also includes IPL 2025 sensation Priyansh Arya from PBKS, who is set to debut in his maiden first-class cricket match if he earns the cap against Hyderabad. Another notable name is Navdeep Saini, the senior Indian pacer who is also making his comeback in the domestic scene after a long hiatus.

"The selectors have named 24 because they felt that a larger pool is always available for selection during each game. However, when we play home games in Delhi, we will prune it down to 15," DDCA secretary Ashok Sharma told PTI.

Speaking of Nitish Rana, he has been called up for the Delhi red-ball squad by the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) selection committee, which met on Thursday. His last first-class match was for UP back in 2024, where he failed to impress with a score of 40 across two innings. 

On Nitish Rana's return to the squad, Sharma said, "He is an experienced player and the selectors wanted to check him out. In any case, he will play the white-ball leg. In fact, in the next game, we are expecting Rishabh Pant to play." 

Delhi's 24-member squad for Ranji Trophy 2025/26

Ayush Badoni (captain), Yash Dhull (vice-captain), Arpit Rana, Sanat Sangwan, Anuj Rawat (wk), Sumit Mathur, Shivam Sharma, Rounak Waghela, Navdeep Saini, Simarjeet Singh, Money Grewal, Siddhant Sharma, Dhruv Kaushik, Pranav Rajvanshi (wk), Nitish Rana, Himmat Singh, Ayush Doseja, Rahul Dagar, Hrithik Shokeen, Priyansh Arya, Tejasvi (wk), Vaibhav Kandpal, Rohan Rana, Aryan Rana (subject to fitness)