Ranji Trophy Watch: Tilak Varma, la ausencia de Nitish Kumar Reddy, la incertidumbre de Siraj podría dañar a Hyderabad

Hyderabad se enfrentará a Himachal Pradesh en la segunda ronda del Trofeo Ranji sin los servicios de Tilak Varma, Nitish Reddy y Siraj.

Hyderabad will head into their first match in the second leg of the Ranji Trophy against Himachal Pradesh without the services of some their star players. The likes of Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Mohammed Siraj will not participate in the contest. While Varma and Reddy are a part of IND vs ENG T20I squad, Siraj will only be available for selection for the game against Vidarbha which begins on January 30.

No Reddy, Varma or Siraj for Hyderabad in Ranji

Tilak‘s last Ranji match for Hyderabad came in February 2024 against Meghalaya. Majorly a white-ball player, the middle-order batter – who is also Hyderabad’s captain for limited over formats – has played 18 first-class matches so far and has amassed 1204 runs and has bagged 8 wickets. He is expected to be a part of the entire IND vs ENG T20I series which begins on January 22. Hence, he is most likely to miss both the matches in the second leg of Ranji.

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Nitish Kumar Reddy has also been included in India’s squad for IND vs ENG T20Is, which means he too will miss the second leg of the domestic red-ball tournament. The all-rounder, who tasted success in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy, is slightly more experienced in first-class cricket compared to Varma. The all-rounder has 1077 runs and 61 wickets from 28 first-class games. Reddy’s presence in Hyderabad’s XI would have surely been a boost for the side.

Mohammed Siraj is expected to miss Hyderabad’s first game of the second leg against HP. The pacer, who was India’s second most overworked fast bowler after Bumrah in the previous calendar year, is currently on a break after a gruelling Border-Gavaskar Trophy. In 70 FC matches, Siraj has 260 wickets to his name, averaging 26.10 with the ball. However, he is aiming to make a return to domestic cricket in the second game of the 2nd leg, which is HYD vs VID.

“He has some workload concern so will not be playing the first game. But will, in all likelihood, turn up for the last game vs Vidarbha,” a Hyderabad Cricket Association official told TOI earlier.