It was a moving day in the Ranji Trophy and we saw some brilliant cricketing action. However, the common sight continued as all the major stars failed to have any say in the Ranji game. Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, and Rishabh Pant all faltered. But two all-rounders shown brightly. Ravindra Jadeja took a 12-wicket match haul as he took Saurashtra over the line. Meanwhile, Shardul Thakur saved Mumbai from embarrassment as he clubbed a historic century against Jammu and Kashmir. In other news, we had legend AB de Villiers talking about Virat Kohli and how he could become the captain of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) again. On that note, let us look at all the major news from January 24, Friday.

Virat Kohli as new RCB captain?
Both LSG and PBKS have confirmed Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer as their respective captains but RCB are without one. That’s why AB de Villiers, an RCB legend, has advocated for Virat Kohli to become the RCB captain yet again. Virat has led RCB from 2013 to 2021 but is yet to taste success with the franchise. Faf du Plessis, who was the captain from 2022 to 2024, failed to inspire any magic as well. Read more here: AB de Villiers advocates Virat Kohli to become RCB captain in IPL 2025

Shardul Thakur saves Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma’s return to the Ranji Trophy would’ve been a matter of chaos for Mumbai, as they were in a perilous situation. But Shardul Thakur, like he always does, saved the game for Mumbai, rollicking a sensational hundred. Rohit failed miserably despite scoring some boundaries, as he scored 28 runs in the second innings. Alongside Tanush Kotian, Shardul built a match-changing partnership as Mumbai now eye a win. Read more here: Ranji Trophy tracker: Jadeja puts 10-star show, Rohit-Iyer fail before Shardul saves Mumbai

Why Rishabh Pant > Sanju Samson?
The Indian selection committee chose Rishabh Pant over Sanju Samson as a keeper option for the ICC Champions Trophy. While many believes it should have been Samson, Dinesh Karthik has divulged that Pant’s left-handedness could be a reason. Karthik even felt that Samson’s non-involvement in the Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) might have played a part as well. Regardless, KL Rahul should be India’s first choice keeper in the tournament. Read more here: Why was Pant picked over Sanju Samson for CT? Karthik flags “differential variable”

Howler from Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh got his analysis all wrong as he named three teams for the same group to qualify for the ICC Champions Trophy semi-final. Bhajji named India, Pakistan, New Zealand and Australia as his four semi-finalists. It is just not possible as only two teams can qualify for the knockouts. Meanwhile, India are in the same group (A) alongside New Zealand and Pakistan. For someone like Harbhajan, this take was absolutely disappointing. Read more here: Howler from Harbhajan as he predicts 3 teams from same ICC CT group to play semis

Kuldeep Yadav trolls RCB!
RCB are yet to lift an IPL trophy and even Kuldeep Yadav has decided to troll them. While speaking on a live stream, Kuldeep responded to a fan’s query of wishing him to come to RCB as a “goalkeeper.” Kuldeep was witty in his response and said that the franchise doesn’t need a keeper but an IPL trophy. However, the Indian skipper, who is selected for the ICC Champions Trophy, took to his Twitter to cover up somewhat! Read more here: DC star Kuldeep Yadav cheekily trolls RCB, says the IPL franchise “needs a trophy”

Manoj Tiwary better than Kohli, Rohit?
Manoj Tiwary has once again criticised former India captain MS Dhoni for his non-selection in the national team during his playing days. Tiwary, who launched a scathing attack on Gautam Gambhir as well, recited that Dhoni dropped him despite scoring a century in an ODI game against the West Indies. Tiwary went on to say that the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina were not scoring runs, and were still persisted with. Read more here: “Kohli, Rohit were not making runs..” – Did Tiwary accuse MS Dhoni of dropping him?