Top 5 Bowlers Who Picked Most Wickets In A Ranji Trophy Season

Jun 19, 2020 at 10:31 AM

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Top 5 Bowlers Who Picked Most Wickets In A Ranji Trophy Season

The premier first-class competition in India has seen plenty of bowlers coming through the ranks at the highest level. But only very few of them have brought the best out of themselves in the domestic cricket so much so that they would go on to represent the Indian national cricket team.

The ones who have not represented India have managed to live up to the reputation in the domestic cricket. With subtle bowling variations of good line and length, the bowlers have always showcased their mettle in the Ranji Trophy tournament.

Now, let’s take a look at the players who have taken most wickets in a Ranji Trophy season. These are the most successful bowlers in a single Ranji trophy season.

1. Ashutosh Aman

Ashutosh Aman, Ranji Trophy
Ashutosh Aman. Credits: Twitter

Ashutosh Aman announced his arrival in the game when he made his List A debut for Bihar in the 2018–19 Vijay Hazare Trophy on 19 September 2018. He then made his first-class debut for the same team in the 2018–19 Ranji Trophy on 1 November 2018.

He first hogged the limelight when he took a fifer in each innings of the fourth match against Sikkim and helped Bihar win their first match of the tournament by 395 runs. In December 2018, Ashutosh Aman became the first-ever bowler to take 50 wickets in the 2018–19 Ranji Trophy tourney.

In the process, he went on to finish the tournament with 68 wickets to his name and thus breaking the previous best record of 64 wickets set by Bishan Singh Bedi in the 1974–75 season.

He went on to make Twenty20 debut for Bihar in the 2018–19 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on 22 February 2019. In August 2019, he was featured in the India Blue team’s squad for the 2019–20 Duleep Trophy tournament.

2. Jaydev Unadkat

Jaydev Unadkat, Ranji Trophy
Jaydev Unadkat Photo Credit: Getty Images.

Jaydev Unadkat has plied his trade for the Indian national cricket team. He plays for Saurashtra in the domestic cricket. He had represented the country in the Under-19 Cricket World Cup in 2010.

In July 2018, he featured in the squad for India Blue for the 2018–19 Duleep Trophy and in October 2018, he was named in India B’s squad for the 2018–19 Deodhar Trophy.

In January 2019, he became the second-ever bowler for Saurashtra to bag 200 wickets in the Ranji Trophy tournament. He has thus far bagged a total of 65 wickets to his name in the 2019/20 season and has also led his team with aplomb.

In August 2019, the left-arm pacer was named in the India Red team’s squad for the 2019–20 Duleep Trophy before being roped in for India A for the 2019–20 Deodhar Trophy.

3. Bishan Singh Bedi

Bishan Singh Bedi, Ranji Trophy
Bishan Singh Bedi (Credits – AFP)

Next on the list is Bishan Singh Bedi. He is a former Indian cricketer who was a slow left-arm orthodox bowler. He played the longest format for India from 1966 to 1979 and was one of the best spinners during his heydays. He played a total of 67 Tests and bagged as many as 266 wickets.

The former spinner also captained the Indian national cricket team in 22 Test matches. As far as the domestic cricket is concerned, the Delhi cricketer Bedi hogged the limelight in the 1974–75 season of the Ranji Trophy, where he took a record 64 wickets.

Bedi also spiced it up for Northamptonshire in English county cricket for several years. He ended up his career with as many as 1560 wickets in first-class cricket—more than any other Indian bowler.

4. Doddanarasiah Ganesh

Doddanarasiah Ganesh, Ranji Trophy
Doddanarasiah Ganesh. Credits: Twitter

The former Indian cricketer had played in four Tests and just one ODI in the year 1997. He was primarily a right-arm seam bowler and a productive lower-order batsman.

During the golden era of Karnataka cricket, with the emergence of Javagal Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad, Anil Kumble, and Sunil Joshi, Ganesh hardly got chances to showcase his mettle.

He made his debut in the 1994-95 season but he could not get a permanent slot in the Karnataka team. He failed to make an impact in his limited Test opportunities as he picked up just five wickets at an average of 57.40.

As far as the first-class cricket is concerned, he took a total of 365 wickets from 104 matches. Despite not making an impression in the international arena due to limited opportunities, he made his presence count in the domestic circuit where he picked a record 62 wickets in 1998/99 season.

5. Kanwaljit Singh

Kanwaljit Singh, Ranji Trophy
Kanwaljit Singh. Credits: Twitter

The former Indian first-class cricketer plied his trade for two teams namely Hyderabad and Tamil Nadu. He is one of the two players to have featured in 100 matches for Hyderabad. He made his first-class debut for Hyderabad in December 1980 during the 1980–81 Ranji Trophy season but he could not cement his place for several years.

However, he hogged the limelight in the 1994–95 season when he appeared for South Zone, India A, and Board President’s XI, and accounted for 47 first-class dismissals at an average of 21.31. During the 1998–99 season, he bagged a total of 51 wickets at an average of 23.58.

He became popular when he was one of the five cricketers to be featured as Indian Cricketer of the Year in 1998. In the 1999–00 Ranji Trophy season, Kanwaljit proved that age is just a number as he took 62 wickets at the age of 42, which is the joint-second most wickets in a Ranji Trophy season after Bishan Bedi’s 64 wickets in 1974–75.

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