BENGALURU: Odisha face a huge fight on their hands if they hope to be competitive in the group stages of the Ranji Trophy. Since advancing from the first stage in 2020, they have not advanced to the quarterfinals even once. Over the course of the last three seasons, stretching back to the beginning of the 2023-24 campaign, they have managed to win only four times in 21 matches. The more worrying aspect about this particular period is that they have tended to lose a fair number of games without holding on for draws.
Last season, for example, they ended up losing five of their games, with their only win coming against Nagaland. The manner of their defeats — losing by seven wickets, losing by an innings and 50 runs, losing by 100 runs, losing by 207 runs and losing by four wickets — reveals a lot.
Giving opposition teams a run for their money and staying competitive on all days should be their goal for the current campaign, beginning with the match against Gujarat on Sunday. But it won't be easy. They are in a tight group with teams like Bengal, Delhi, Jharkhand, Kerala, Maharashtra and Services.
As always, much will depend on skipper Subhranshu Senapati. If he can make the runs at the top of the order — he averaged almost 42 with the bat last season — they know have a chance of creating something special. During the recently held Odisha Pro T20 League, Senapati was in form as he led his team, Keonjhar Miners, to the title. Thanks to the league, members of the Odisha team have had some substantial game time, albeit in white-ball cricket, before the start of the Ranji season. The Odisha T20 league has been a recent addition to the domestic calendar and it will come as a boon to the state's players because, apart from providing employment opportunities, it will allow them to get back into the groove before the start of the domestic season. The other batting mainstays are Shantanu Mishra and Swastik Samal.
With the ball, much will depend on Rajesh Mohanty. There is also a lot of excitement around Sayed Tufayl Ahmad, the 18-year-old left-arm spinner. In his only previous first-class game, against Jharkhand at the fag end of last season, he returned a match haul of 8/181. They also have other youngsters.
If they need inspiration to go on an unlikely run, they only need to look at one of their opponents, Kerala. Not so long ago, Kerala were struggling to create an impact. In the 2024-25 campaign, they finished runners-up. Outside of Kerala, they also have the story of J&K for added motivation.
Last three seasons:
2023-24: Group stage
2024-25: Group stage
2025-26: Group stage
Schedule
Oct 11: vs Gujarat, Ahmedabad
Oct 18: vs Kerala, T'Puram
Oct 26: vs Services, Bhubaneswar
Nov 2: vs Jharkhand, Bhubaneswar
Jan 17: vs Delhi, Cuttack
Jan 24: vs Maharashtra, Pune
Feb 1: vs Bengal, Kolkata
Squad: Swastik Samal, Subhranshu Senapati, Om Munde, Gourav Choudhary, Shreyansh Bhardwaj, Sandeep Pattanaik, Shantanu Mishra, Aashirwad Swain, Dinesh Majhi, Ninad Rathva, Lalit Yadav, Rajesh Mohanty, Prashant Rana, Soumya Lenka, Sambit Beja, Sayed Tufayl Ahmad, Badal Biswal.