The 91st edition of the Ranji Trophy has officially begun, with 38 first-class teams battling it out across the nation. Well, the start hasn’t been fruitful for some. Sarfaraz Khan and Prithvi Shaw, two best friends who are currently out of contention for the Indian team, endured unwanted starts. Both the talented stars have gone out for a duck in the Ranji Trophy opener.
Prithvi Shaw’s worst debut for Maharashtra
Prithvi Shaw sought a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Mumbai Cricket Association (NOC) and joined state rivals Maharashtra earlier this year. His case i an intriguing one, as Shaw rose to the scene with immense hype after he took India to a famous Under-19 ODI World Cup win in 2018. However, unlike Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma and Riyan Parag, who were also part of that Under-19 team, Shaw’s international career never took off.
Despite scoring a century on his Test debut, Shaw fell out of favour. On a domestic level, he was dropped from Mumbai’s team multiple times, with question marks rising over his behaviour, fitness and form. Now, he eyes a restart in Maharashtra. He even hammered a sensational century in a practice game against Mumbai. However, the start hasn’t been what he hoped for, scoring a duck on his debut for the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side.
Shaw was undone by an incoming delivery by Kerala’s MD Nidheesh, who wreaked havoc in the first hour. Shaw scored a four-ball duck. In fact, Maharashtra were left stunned as they lost four wickets for five runs inside the first four overs. Nedumankuzhy Basil also took two wickets.
Sarfaraz Khan’s unwanted return
Meanwhile, Shaw’s best friend, whose performance would’ve been under scanner too, failed. Interestingly, he was put to open the batting alongside Ayush Mhatre, who looked solid. However, Sarfaraz endured a duck on his return. Sarfaraz completed rehabilitation for his quadriceps injury at the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru. Having sustained the injury while playing for Mumbai in the Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament, Sarfaraz was sidelined for over a month.
The 27-year-old, who seemed to be on the verge of a return to the Indian Test team, couldn’t play in the Duleep Trophy, the Irani Cup, or the India A vs Australia A series. His hopes for the India vs West Indies Test were also dashed due to the untimely injury. However, now, he was fit enough to play the Ranji Trophy for Mumbai but has scored a duck on his much-awaited comeback.
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