They will begin their campaign with a fixture against Saurashtra on Wednesday (October 15).
Karnataka have named their squad for the opening round of the Ranji Trophy 2025/26 season, with several IPL stars featuring. They will begin their campaign with a fixture against Saurashtra on Wednesday (October 15).
Mayank Agarwal will lead the group again, while Karun Nair has returned after playing for Vidarbha for a couple of seasons. Selectors ignored Nair for the last two editions, which forced him to switch to Vidarbha, where he scored big runs across formats and helped them clinch the Ranji Trophy last season and Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024/25 final.
His tremendous run opened the door for his national selection before being dropped again from the West Indies series, and a fresh season will present another opportunity to press a case for his return. Other notable names include Ravichandran Smaran, who was Karnataka’s leading run-scorer last season, K.L. Shrijith, and Shreyas Gopal.
Smaran accumulated 516 runs at an average of 64.50 in 10 outings, comprising two centuries. Shrijith, bought by the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the IPL 2025 auction, didn’t get many chances last season but is expected to be their primary wicketkeeper-batter this time around.
Other experienced players in the squad include Abhinav Manohar and Vyshak Vijaykumar, both of whom have been around the setup for a while now. Manohar didn’t play all games and was mostly underwhelming, and this season will present an opportunity to stamp his red-ball authority after impressing in white-ball cricket.
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Fresh names include the wicketkeeper-batter Kruthik Krishna and left-arm spinner Shikhar Shetty. Both were impressive in the recently concluded Dr (Capt.) K. Thimmappiah Memorial Tournament, as Krishna scored 349 runs at an average of 49.86 in five matches, with four half-centuries, while Shikhar took 20 wickets at 18.50 runs apiece in three outings.
Another interesting name is the off-spinner Mohsin Khan, who took seven wickets at an average of 30.28 in two innings last season. With an experienced Gopal already at the helm, Karnataka have better spin stocks than the previous edition – thanks to the inclusion of Mohsin and Shikhar, who bring variety to the attack.
Meanwhile, India-bound players such as Prasidh Krishna, KL Rahul, and Devdutt Padikkal were not considered due to their national commitments, given that the first game starts midway through the second West Indies Test. However, they have been named in probables and can be part of the XI later in the season whenever they are available.
Mayank Agarwal (captain), Karun Nair, R. Smaran, K.L. Shrijith (wk), K.V. Aneesh, Abhinav Manohar, Nikin Jose, V. Vyshak, Vidwath Kaverappa, Shreyas Gopal, Kruthik Krishna (wk), Shikhar Shetty, Mohsin Khan, Abhilash Shetty, M. Venkatesh
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