Hyderabad: Despite failing in both innings with the bat, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma have scripted, becoming the first active Indian Test opening pair to open the batting for the same Ranji Trophy team. Jaiswal and Rohit achieved the incredible feat during the Ranji Trophy clash between 42-time champion Mumbai and Jammu & Kashmir on Thursday, January 24.
This will be the first match since the BCCI issued a directive instructing players to participate in the Ranji Trophy to be considered for selection to the Indian team. As a result, several prominent players who are regulars on the national team are participating in this round of the Ranji Trophy. Notable names in the Mumbai squad include Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Rohit Sharma has now become the first captain of India after 17 years to feature in a Ranji Trophy match. The last captain to do so was Anil Kumble back in 2008 when he took the field for Maharashtra. This was Rohit's return to domestic cricket for the first time in 7 years.
Rohit Sharma, who returned to domestic cricket nearly after a decade, had forgettable outings in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, having scored runs at a 10.93 average after 15 innings in eight Test matches in the 2024-25 season - the lowest for any batter with a minimum of 15 innings in the top seven in a Test season. Rohit has been dismissed in single digits in ten of those 15 innings - the most for a top-seven batter in a season. Virat Kohli is second with nine single-digit dismissals in 2024-25. His comeback to the domestic circuit came as he wanted to find his mojo back and come into the rhythm before India travel to UAE for the highly anticipated Champions Trophy 2025.
However, it didn't happen as both of them departed for single-digit scores in the first innings while scoring 26 and 28 respectively in the second innings. While Jaiswal scored only five runs, Rohit Sharma got out after struggling for an 18-ball 3-run innings.
