Shubman Gill failed to make an impact with the bat on his return to the Ranji Trophy. Shubman Gill is currently captaining Punjab in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2025-26 Elite Group B match against Saurashtra at the Niranjan Shah Stadium C in Rajkot.
Shubman Gill failed to make a comeback in Ranji Trophy!
As India’s Test and ODI captain, there were huge expectations from Gill in Punjab’s crucial match against Saurashtra. But the right-handed batsman struggled to make an impact and did not perform well with the bat in either innings against Jaydev Unadkat’s Saurashtra team.
The Indian captain was dismissed cheaply in similar fashion in both innings and Parth Bhoot got the better of Gill on both occasions, dismissing him LBW each time.
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It was a disappointing performance for Gill, who would have expected a strong comeback after an ordinary ODI series against New Zealand on home soil.
Double trouble for Shubman Gill due to Parth Bhut’s two strikes.
After being dropped from India’s T20I setup, Gill struggled badly to counter the spin attack in the Ranji Trophy tie. In the first innings on January 22, the 26-year-old was out for a duck while batting at No. 5 after facing only two balls. He was LBW by left arm spinner Parth Bhutt.
Next day, in the second innings, Punjab was chasing a big target of 320 runs on a turning pitch and Gill came in at number four and tried to build a partnership with Uday Saharan. He hit a four but could not stand against the attack of Saurashtra.
Once again the ghosts overpowered the Indian star. While playing a sweep shot against Saurashtra in Rajkot, Gill was out LBW after scoring 14 runs in 32 balls in the second innings. His wicket led to a batting collapse and Punjab lost five wickets for just 13 runs against Saurashtra in their Ranji encounter at the Niranjan Shah Stadium C with aggressive batting from Bhutt and Dharmendrasinh Jadeja.
Also read: Shubman Gill was dropped to benefit Suryakumar Yadav!! Shocking revelation before T20 World Cup
Parth Bhutt defeated Punjab, Saurashtra registered a spectacular win
Ultimately, Saurashtra recorded an emphatic 195-run win over Punjab in Rajkot, with Bhutt and Jadeja taking five wickets each in the second innings. Bhutt was a brilliant bowler with the ball, finishing the match with 10 wickets, while Ravindra Jadeja took only two wickets against Punjab.
With this crushing defeat, Punjab’s hopes of finishing in the top two and qualifying for the knockouts in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2025-26 are over as they have managed to win only one out of the six matches they have played so far in the Elite Group B.
Shubman Gill’s struggle
On the other hand, Shubman Gill is going through a difficult phase in his career. His ODI captaincy started with a poor series in Australia, followed by injury problems and was dropped from India’s T20 World Cup 2026 squad.
His form has fallen badly, scoring only 196 runs in his last ten innings in the T20I series in South Africa, the ODI series against New Zealand and the home matches for Punjab. He could score only two fifties against New Zealand and that is the only positive thing.