Ranji Trophy 2018-19: Robin Uthappa ruled out from the initial phase of the event

India’s premier domestic competition, i.e. the Ranji Trophy is slated to begin on the 1st of November. All the teams have been quite vested in the preparations for the upcoming season. Saurashtra is all set to begin their campaign against Chattisgarh under the captaincy of Jaydev Shah.

However, they have already been dealt with a huge blow ahead of the season opener. Robin Uthappa is likely to miss out on the initial stage of the tournament after being advised 6-8 weeks rest. However, at the same time, the presence of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja in the first couple of games would be valuable.

Robin Uthappa will add a lot of value to the side when he is back

Earlier, right-handed Robin Uthappa had made a switch from Karnataka to Saurashtra. However, due to an ankle injury, Uthappa is expected to stay out of action for more than a month. Coach Sitanshu Kotak wasn’t sure when the 32-year-old will regain fitness. However, he stated that irrespective of when he comes back, it will make a huge impact on the team.

“Uthappa is having an injury. He has some issues with his ankle. Three to four days ago, he underwent a surgery in England. He will need six to eight weeks to recover. I don’t know how much will he be able to play in the league stage.  But even if he is back for the second phase, he will add value to our side,” Kotak was quoted as saying in Sportstar on Friday.

Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja will be available for the first few games

Cheteshwar Pujara will be featuring in the start of the Ranji Trophy before he departs for the Australian tour. As for Ravindra Jadeja, he was likely to miss the first game due to the ongoing series against Windies. The Saurashtra coach highlighted how the management was facing selections issues regarding their U23 players.

“Pujara will be there in the first two games, Jadeja may miss out on the opener but he will be available for the second game. The problem is if we pick players who are also eligible for the U-23 tournament, we have to ensure they make it to the playing XI. We don’t want them to miss both the chances. If they make it, we will keep them but there is no point sitting out as reserves,” he added.

Samarth Vyas, Yuvraj Chudasama and Chetan Sakariya are a few cricketers eligible to play the U23 tournament.

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