Ranji Trophy 2026-27: Defending champion J&K begins title defence against Madhya Pradesh
Jammu and Kashmir begins its title defence against Madhya Pradesh bolstered by the return of Auqib Nabi. | Photo Credit: K MURALI KUMAR
Jammu and Kashmir begins its title defence against Madhya Pradesh bolstered by the return of Auqib Nabi. | Photo Credit: K MURALI KUMAR
A week after the Irani Cup defeat exposed the cracks in its armour, Jammu and Kashmir gets a chance to reset on familiar turf. The defending champion begins its Ranji Trophy campaign against Madhya Pradesh at the Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium on Sunday, hoping to leave that disappointment behind and find its feet again.
India pacer Auqib Nabi’s availability offers a timely boost, although J&K has rested Umar Nazir, who claimed six wickets in the Irani Cup. Nasir Lone and Sunil Kumar provide further pace options, while Umran Malik, despite being with the squad, has not been considered.
ALSO READ: How Vidarbha, Saurashtra and J&K challenged the traditional red-ball powerhouses
The bigger concern, however, is the batting. J&K squandered a first-innings lead against Rest of India before collapsing in the second innings. Shubham Khajuria, Qamran Iqbal, Abdul Samad and captain Paras Dogra will need to shoulder the responsibility if the host is to make its home advantage count. Building partnerships and avoiding another collapse will be central to its plans.
Madhya Pradesh, meanwhile, has spent the past week in Srinagar acclimatising to the conditions and arrives without any injury concerns. Led by Shubham Sharma, it will miss Rajat Patidar and Venkatesh Iyer but retains considerable batting depth through Yash Dubey, Harsh Gawli and Himanshu Mantri.
The bowling attack, spearheaded by the experienced Avesh Khan and featuring Kuldeep Sen, has the pace to trouble the hosts. Saransh Jain and Kumar Kartikeya add experience to the spin department, giving MP a balanced attack.
For MP, this is an opportunity to make an early statement away from home. Having seen Rest of India expose J&K’s vulnerabilities, the visiting side will look to apply similar pressure. Coming on the back of a forgettable Irani outing, the defending champion will hope for a brighter start on the field, too, after the sunshine over Srinagar gave way to cloudy skies later in the day.
Published on Oct 10, 2026
Latest on Sportstar
Live Blog 2026-10-10T13:05:55+05:30
South Africa vs Australia, Day 2 LIVE score: Cummins falls, Renshaw carries on; Aussies 240/8- Ranji Trophy 2026-27: Defending champion J&K begins title defence against Madhya Pradesh
Live Blog 2026-10-10T11:31:01+05:30
AFG vs BAN, One-off Test Day 2 Live Score: Bangladesh all out on 346, Afghanistan 4/0
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.