UP announce squad for Ranji Trophy, Aryan Juyal to lead

The UPCA (Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association) have announced the squad for the upcoming Ranji Trophy. The UP team will be playing their first game against Bengal from October 11 at the Ekana International Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.

The selection committee of the UPCA selected a formidable group of 22 players, with six of them being standbys. It is worth noting that Rinku Singh will not be available  for the first round of the Ranji Trophy as he is busy with international assignments. 

Meanwhile, the likes of Priyam Garg, Nitish Rana, and Akshdeep Nath will feature for UP in the tournament. Aryan Juyal has been chosen to lead the side. Veteran pacer Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, and Dhruv Jurel have also not been selected in the squad. Bhuvaneshwar is looking to solely focus on white-ball cricket, whereas Kuldeep and Dhruv are expected to feature for India in the upcoming three-game Test series against New Zealand soon. 

Also Read: Ranji Trophy 2024-25: Everything you need to know about new two-phase format

As for skipper Juyal, the 22-year-old recently talked about the responsibilities that will come with leading UP in the Ranji Trophy. 

"I have been given a big responsibility. Last season, I captained one match against Kerala where I scored a century, and UP won that match. This time, the team has more young players, and we will give our best with a new approach," Juyal told the Times of India. 

UP Squad for Ranji Trophy 2024-25 (First Two Matches)

Aryan Juyal (C) (WK), Swastik Chikara, Priyam Garg, Akshdeep Nath, Nitish Rana, Saurabh Kumar, Ankit Rajpoot, Aaqib Khan, Vipraj Nigam, Yash Dayal, Shivam Sharma, Siddhartha Yadav, Madhav Kaushik, Vijay Kumar, Aaditya Sharma (WK), Kritagya Singh.

Standby: Atal Bihari Rai, Prince Yadav, Abhishek Goswami, Vineet Panwar, Vaibhav Chaudhary, Kartikey Jaiswal