Lucknow: In a surprise move, Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) selection committee has dropped regular skipper Karan Sharma from the last two league matches and named Aryan Juyal as the captain of Ranji team.Sharma has not been included in the jumbo 21-member squad for the remaining two encounters.
UP will face Jharkhand from Jan 22 at Ekana international stadium in Lucknow and Vidarbha in Nagpur on Jan 29.Uttar Pradesh occupy fourth position with 17 points, including one win, three drawn and one washout match, in the elite group A. In these two crucial encounters, UP needed an outright win with bonus points to have a chance to qualify for the knockouts.The performance of skipper Karan Sharma has been below par as he scored only 151 in four matches including a century against Odisha.Wicketkeeper Aryan Juyal will lead the side with Madhav Kaushik as deputy for the remaining encounters. Aryan made headlines in the Vijay Hazare Trophy as he finished among top ten highest run scorers.He scored 492 runs in 8 innings, including highest unbeaten 150, recently. In the first phase of Ranji Trophy season, Juyal scored 249 runs in four innings with one century at an average of 62.25. Talking to TOI, Karan Sharma said, “I am surprised and disappointed. I don’t know why I am not in the squad. I am fit and ready to play for my team, but then, selection isn’t in my hands.”Selection committee members did not comment on the issue.Nalin Mishra, son of UPCA vice-president Rakesh Mishra, has been included in the squad. Nalin played CK Nayudu in 2018-19 and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2021. He scored 14 runs in three matches and 18 runs in one match in the UPT20 league’s 2024 and 2025 seasons.Three Lucknow players, Vipraj Nigam, Zeeshan Ansari and Rohit Dwivedi, have also been included in Uttar Pradesh’s Ranji Trophy squad.Zeeshan has returned to the UP Ranji team for the first time since 2020 after an impressive performance in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Debutant Rohit Dwivedi has also earned a place in the squad for the remaining two Ranji matches.UP Squad: Aryan Juyal (captain), Abhishek Goswami, Madhav Kaushik (vice-captain), Aaditya Sharma, Adarsh Singh, Prashant Veer, Priyam Garg, Kartik Yadav, Vipraj Nigam, Shivam Sharma, Shivam Mavi, Zeeshan Ansari, Kunal Tyagi, Jasmer Dhankar, Shubh Khanna, Nadeem, Karan Chaudhary, Rohit Dwivedi, Ashutosh Rai, Vineet Dubey and Nalin Mishra.
