Ranji Trophy 2026-27: Arya returns as Delhi looks to get campaign going against Gujarat at Palam

Priyansh Arya returns to Delhi’s Ranji Trophy squad against Gujarat. | Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

At the dawn of a new Ranji Trophy season, Delhi seemed stuck in its old ways as it endured a nine-wicket defeat against Bengal in Kalyani in the Elite Group-C encounter last week.

Thoroughly outplayed as the seven-time Ranji champion was, Ayush Badoni & Co. have an opportunity to get over the disappointment when they face Gujarat at the Palam ‘B’ ground here from Sunday. Delhi will play its home matches in the first phase at this venue since the outfield at the Arun Jaitley Stadium is set to undergo a revamp.

Although Palam has historically not been amenable to outright results, Delhi coach Vijay Dahiya expects the surface for this game to behave differently.

“It’s not a very typical Palam surface. Normally, you don’t see that much grass. I have a feeling that bounce can be an issue as the game goes on,” he assessed on Saturday.

Delhi has a 17-member squad, including Priyansh Arya, to choose from. The aggressive left-hander’s availability is a boost to the batting unit, which was shot out for 240 and 277 by Bengal. The below-par totals could be partly justified by the presence of Mohammed Shami, Akash Deep and Mukesh Kumar in Bengal’s pace attack. But Delhi’s bowlers ought not to have conceded over 400 in Bengal’s first innings.

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Dahiya wants more from pace spearhead Navdeep Saini.

“Saini has been part of the Indian set-up. You want to see that mentality. An India player should stand out when he is playing a Ranji game,” Dahiya reasoned.

Gujarat romped to a 10-wicket win over Odisha in the opener. Vedant Trivedi racked up a ton, and he was complemented by half-centuries from Aarya Desai, Urvil Patel and Harshal Patel. Left-arm spinner Siddharth Desai claimed seven scalps over the two innings.

Flights routinely pass this venue at low altitude given its proximity to the airport. On the field, which team will soar higher?