Bleak returns for India's star players on domestic circuit

Ranji Trophy: Top stars flop India's stars faltered on their return to domestic cricket after being told to play in home competitions

- Rasesh Mandani

MUMBAI: If the idea behind getting India regulars to play the Ranji Trophy was to boost their confidence after many batting collapses in Test cricket, the first day's play across the vast expanse of the country proved to be a dampener. The performances of Rohit Sharma (3), Yashasvi Jaiswal (4), Shreyas Iyer (11), Shubman Gill (4) and Rishabh Pant (1) did not make for pretty reading. Whether in Mumbai, Bengaluru or Rajkot, most of the damage was done in the morning session.

The Mumbai batters were undone by J&K pacers. Elsewhere, it wasn't a different story. Rohit might have had visions of Melbourne, where Pat Cummins saw the back of him. Falling to an identical dismissal like the first innings of the MCG Test match, Rohit holed out playing a half-pull, caught in an ungainly position, his feet still in the air when the ball bounced off his top edge. Only this time, the bowler dismissed him was Jammu & Kashmir's right-arm quick Umar Nazir; the Indian captain's first essay on Ranji return after nearly 10 years lasted less than half an hour and only 19 deliveries.