Led by Darshan Misal, Goa will begin its campaign in the 2023-24 Ranji Trophy season against Tripura on January 5 at Agartala. Goa will be hoping to put up a better show this time around.
During last season, Goa had managed to win just two games (against Services and Kerala), losing two with three matches ending in a draw and thereby had managed to finish at sixth position out of eight teams in their group.
Poor Record
The 2023–24 Ranji Trophy will the 89th season of the Ranji Trophy, the premier first-class cricket tournament in India. But, Goa has been participating in this tournament only since 1985-86. However, Goa’s record over here has not been that great. Till date, Goa has played 211 matches in Ranji Trophy winning only on 28 occasions, losing 94 times and the rest 89 games ended in a draw. Infact, the state had to wait for 12 seasons to register its first victory in Ranji Trophy. This happened against Karnataka during 1996-97 season. Also, in the last 38 years, Goa has never qualified to the knockout stage of Ranji Trophy.
The closest a Goan side came to make it to the knock-out stage was during 2013-14 season under Sri Lankan coach Nuwan Zoysa when they missed out to qualify for the quarter-finals just by a whisker only to miss out on the basis of Net Run Rate (NRR). If Goa had qualified for the Ranji quarters then, it would have been a historic moment in Goan cricket and perhaps, could have changed the fortunes of Goan cricket forever.
Transition Phase
Goan cricket is going through a transition phase. The retirement of Swapnil Asnodkar, Sagun Kamat and Shadab Jakati in the last few years has left a big void in Goan cricket. Asnodkar and Kamat were the highest run-getters for Goa in first-class cricket while Jakati was the leading wicket-taker. The absence of these three stalwarts of Goan cricket is definitely been felt. The lack of bench strength has hampered Goan cricket the most over the years.
Goa will depend upon Suyash Prabhudesai, who plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the IPL and Snehal Kauthankar to do most of the runs scoring for them while skipper Darshan Misal will be a valuable all-rounder to the side.
Arjun Tendulkar, the son of legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, will be playing his second Ranji season for Goa. During last season, he had scored a century on debut and had also taken some crucial wickets.
K V Siddharth and India international cricketer Rahul Tripathi will be the other outstation cricketers representing Goa this Ranji season.
Tough Group
Thirty two teams are participating in Ranji Trophy this season. They are divided into four groups consisting of eight teams each. Goa is placed in Group C. It’s a tough group consisting of five former champions - Karnataka, Gujarat, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Railways – along with Chandigarh, Tripura and Goa.
Only the top-two sides in each of the four groups will advance to the knock stage i.e. quarter-finals. Goa will have its task cut out. Given its track record, advancing to the knock-out stage of the Ranji Trophy will be a tough ask for the Goan outfit.
Goa's squad for first two matches:
Darshan Misal (Captain), Deepraj Gaonkar (Vice-Captain), Ishan Gadekar, Manthan Kutkar, Suyash Prabhudesai, Rahul Tripathi, K V Siddharth, Snehal Kauthankar, Mohit Redkar, Samar Dubashi, Arjun Tendulkar, Vijesh Prabhudesai, Lakshay Garg, Heramb Parab, Amulya Pandrekar
Schedule:
Goa v/s Tripura, January 5-8, 2024, Agartala
Goa v/s Chandigarh, January 12-15, 2024, Porvorim
Goa v/s Karnataka, January 19-22, 2024, Mysore
Goa v/s Punjab, January 26-29, 2024, Porvorim
Goa v/s Tamil Nadu, February 2-5, 2024, Porvorim
Goa v/s Railways, February 9-12, 2024, Surat
Goa v/s Gujarat, February 16-19, 2024, Porvorim
