Indian Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill is out of the NZ T20I series and the ICC T20 World Cup, which follows it. Hence, Gill has been drafted into Punjab’s Ranji Trophy squad.
Shubman Gill has not played for Punjab in the Ranji Trophy for some time and returned to the domestic red-ball tournament with the match against Saurashtra. He was last seen in the ODI series between India and New Zealand, which India eventually lost 2-1.
Both these teams, Punjab and Saurashtra, have been placed under Group B in the Elite League of the Ranji Trophy. While Saurashtra are fourth on the table with a win, no losses and four draws, Punjab have lost one game, won one and drawn 3 to be behind them in the competition.
Shubman Gill fails on Ranji Trophy return
Indian skipper Shubman Gill failed to prove his authority in the red ball format as he returned to feature against Saurashtra at the Niranjan Shah Ground in Rajkot, the very ground where India lost their first ODI to NZ in the series before this.
Gill had a fantastic run in the longest format of the game and finished as the highest scorer in the 2025 calendar year. He would have loved to extend the same streak through the 2026 season as well, but failed to give himself a solid start.
The Punjab skipper was dismissed for a two-ball duck as Punjab were reduced to 73/4 after his dismissal. Parth Bhut got back-to-back wickets, which also included trapping Gill plumb in front of three stumps.
Shubman Gill two-ball duck, batting at No.5 for Punjab vs Sauraashtra in Ranji
— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) January 22, 2026
Prabhsimran Singh hands Punjab a good start in the short trail of runs
The Punjab Kings batter, who represents Punjab across all three formats of the game, played a fine hand for them in this match as well. The Rajkot Ground C has not been an ideal batting track, and just one of the Saurashtra batters has done the majority of the scoring.
Prabhsimran Singh was one such batter for the Punjab team; however, he could not convert the promising start he had at the start of the innings. Opening the innings for the state team, Prabhsimran scored 44 quick runs, but after his dismissal, the Punjab wickets fell like a house of cards.
Parth Bhut picked a five-wicket haul in the match, as Ravindra Jadeja helped Saurashtra to finish the Punjab tail and extend a first-innings lead by 33 runs. Punjab were bowled out for just 139 runs.
Ravindra Jadeja disappoints on Ranji Trophy return
Alongside Shubman Gill for Punjab, another Indian great was part of the Punjab vs Saurashtra match. Ravindra Jadeja, one of the greatest ever all-rounders of this generation, stepped in to play for Saurashtra in the middle order.
Jadeja also could not fire with the bat after his poor show in the New Zealand series, as he was dismissed for just 7 runs off 6 balls, and it led to the collapse of the Saurashtra innings. He, however, picked up two wickets with the ball that helped wind up the Punjab tail and take a lead over the side.
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