Ranji Trophy | Badoni replaces Himmat as Delhi captain

Delhi sacks Himmat Singh as captain, appoints Ayush Badoni; Yash Dhull named vice-captain; squad changes made for upcoming match.

Following a crushing defeat to Chandigarh in the fourth round of the Ranji Trophy, Delhi has sacked Himmat Singh as captain. He has been replaced by Ayush Badoni, who scored 49 and 1 in the two innings and took four wickets at the GMSSS ground in Chandigarh.

Badoni’s first game as skipper will be against Jharkhand at the Arun Jaitley Stadium beginning on Wednesday.

With Himmat struggling for form this season — he has 182 runs in six innings at 30.33 — the decision-makers have now entrusted Badoni with the task of reviving Delhi’s middling campaign. It is currently fourth in Group D, with an insipid display against Chandigarh prompting further changes.

Yash Dhull has been named as the vice-captain in recognition of his impressive scores at the beginning of this season. In four matches, he has racked up two centuries and a fifty. Dhull was the Delhi skipper during the 2022-23 Ranji season, but he was removed after the team lost to Pondicherry in the opening game of the 2023-24 campaign.

Hrithik Shokeen, Shivank Vashisth and Kshitiz Sharma have been dropped from the 18-member squad. Off-spinner Shokeen claimed just one scalp while left-arm spinner Shivank went wicketless on a spin-friendly track in Chandigarh. Kshitiz contributed just 13 runs across the two innings.

Their spots in the squad have been taken up by Simarjeet Singh, Mayank Gusain and Shivam Sharma. While pacer Simarjeet returns after missing the last three matches with injury, Gusain is a batting all-rounder who has been doing well in the U-23 set-up.

The squad: Ayush Badoni (Capt.), Yash Dhull (Vice-capt.), Himmat Singh, Gagan Vats, Sanat Sangwan, Jonty Sidhu, Anuj Rawat, Sumit Mathur, Siddhant Sharma, Himanshu Chauhan, Money Grewal, Pranav Rajvanshi, Vaibhav Kandpal, Simarjeet Singh, Shivam Sharma, Aryan Rana, Mayank Gusain, Prince Choudhary.