Devdutt Padikkal named Karnataka captain in Ranji Trophy

Before Karnataka's Ranji Trophy match against Punjab, their final league match, Devdutt Padikkal has taken over as captain. Mayank Agarwal had been the captain of Karnataka. However, despite the fact that Mayank was removed from his position as captain, he was selected as one of the six specialist batters for Karnataka's squad for their match against Punjab, which also featured KL Rahul. Since the beginning of 2018, Rahul has only appeared in two Ranji Trophy matches, the last of which was against Haryana in January 2025. The decision comes at a time when the KSCA administration has undergone some changes, with former India fast bowler Venkatesh Prasad elected as the new president. In December, the KSCA established a new selection committee, led by Amit Verma, a former Karnataka all-rounder. This season, Mayank has thrown nine innings and scored 298 runs at an average of 33.11, including a century and two fifties. In the first game of the season, Padikkal scored 96 and 15, but he didn't play in any of the other games in the first half of the Ranji Trophy. After that, he had a dream season in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, where Karnataka reached the semifinals. He scored 725 runs in nine innings at an incredible average of 90.62 and finished as the second-highest run scorer. However, in their defeat to Madhya Pradesh in their last Ranji game, Padikkal registered two ducks, facing just three deliveries across the two innings. The return of Ravichandran Smaran, who was injured and missed their last game, has also helped Karnataka's batting. But they will be without Karun Nair, who suffered a split webbing against Madhya Pradesh, and hasn't yet recovered. In that game, Nikin Jose took his place in the field and Nair did not bat in Karnataka's second innings. Prasidh Krishna will also lead Karnataka's attack in the match against Punjab. After playing in two games last season, the fast bowler will also make his debut this year. Karnataka must win their game against Punjab in Alur after losing to Madhya Pradesh. With 21 points, they are currently third in Group B, ahead of Maharashtra (24 points) and Madhya Pradesh (22 points). Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh play each other in their last game of the league stage.