Wriddhiman Saha, the Indian wicket-keeper batter, who had joined Tripura after a feud with the Cricket Association of Bengal in 2022, reportedly will join Bengal back for the upcoming season.
In a surprising development in Bengal cricket, some reports suggest that senior wicketkeeper batter Wriddhiman Saha might come back to the Bengal cricket team. Saha, who has played 40 Tests for India, previously left Bengal to join Tripura in 2022 following a controversy with CAB joint secretary Debabrata 'Debu' Das.
In the 2021-22 season, Saha pulled out from the Ranji Trophy selection citing "personal reasons". Post that, CAB joint secretary Debabrata 'Debu' Das alleged that Saha was using excuses to skip domestic matches for Bengal.
The below Facebook post from Romi Mitra Saha, Wriddhiman's wife suggested that the wicket-keeper might make his return to Bengal cricket after two years.
Sudip Chatterjee has already taken his N.O.C from Tripura and will be available for selection in the upcoming season for Bengal. With reports of Saha joining Bengal back, Bengal might be having their core middle order group back for the upcoming season.
Saha has played 136 first-class games in his career and scored 7013 runs.
Exclusive - From England to Kalyani: This cricket-loving English couple can’t get enough of India
70-year-old English David & Deborah Marcus travelled to Kalyani after watching the Test match at Eden Gardens. Before travelling to Guwahati for the second Test, the couple shared their story of love for cricket and India.
Deborah and David during the Day 2 of Bengal vs Assam Ranji Trophy 2025-26 match in Kalyani. Image Copyright - Sportz Point
On day two of the Bengal versus Assam Ranji Trophy 2025-26 Elite Group C match at the Bengal Cricket Academy in Kalyani, an unusual sight caught everyone's attention: a foreign couple, both sporting Indian cricket team hats, watched the entire game with unwavering enthusiasm. Their presence piqued the curiosity of Sportz Point, prompting a deeper look into their fascinating story.
Meet David Marucs and Deborah Marcus, who came all the way from England to watch the India vs South Africa Test series at Eden Gardens, and since the Test match was over in three days, they did not want to waste the opportunity to watch a Ranji Trophy match.
English couple’s love for cricket makes them return back to India
Deborah and David during the Day 2 of Bengal vs Assam Ranji Trophy 2025-26 match in Kalyani. Image Copyright - Sportz Point
The 70-year-old couple has been married for 13 years since Deborah’s first husband passed away. Ever since, Deborah has accompanied David on his cricket adventures, journeying to India with him twice each year to indulge his passion for the sport. “David loves cricket, and I travel with him to every cricket match he goes to,” Deborah shared with Sportz Point.
David, a former software engineer from England, first visited India in 2009 and, since then, has been coming here frequently. “I love the enthusiasm for cricket here. Everyone is so attached to the game. I love the passion. I even have a five-year visa,” David told us.
Both David and Deborah were impressed to see the number of fans who turned up for the India vs South Africa, 1st Test at Eden Gardens. “It was around 48,000 people on Friday and even more on Saturday. It is great for Test cricket. But, it was sad to see the match getting over in three days,” David expressed.
The elderly couple, however, was not impressed with a few things at the Eden Gardens Cricket stadium during their visit to the ground. “There should be more food and a few more things available for the fans at the stadium, who were not under the shade. It was hot. But, even with the sun out, fans kept on turning up, which is great,” David added.
From England to New Zealand via India, just for love of cricket
Although David is from England, Deborah is from New Zealand. They both now live in England, and every year they travel to New Zealand to see her family there. But their love for cricket will take them to New Zealand via India.
“From here, we will go to Guwahati to watch the second Test. From there on, we will travel to New Zealand,” Deborah shared.
In the 2024 India vs England Test series, both David and Deborah travelled in five Indian cities, from Hyderabad to Himachal Pradesh, for the five Tests. In between that, Deborah even went to Kashmir to watch one of the most scenic places on earth.
“Last year, we travelled to five cities during the Test series. But there was a gap between the end of the fourth Test in Ranchi and the start of the final Test in Dharamshala. So, I even went to Kashmir as well,” Deborah told.
Deborah, who played Croquet for New Zealand in the past, is proud to see the growth of Women’s Cricket in England and in India, too. “It is great to see how women’s cricket is growing. I have seen it in England, and I believe it is growing in India as well. More people should come up and invest in women’s cricket,” Deborah added.
Despite the concerning air pollution in the northern part of India, especially in Delhi, the couple wishes to come back to India for their love of cricket.
“We can sense the love for cricket here. Even in domestic matches, people are coming to watch games. The IPL has changed the future of the game, too. We would love to see IPL matches in India someday as well. It’s just an electric atmosphere,” David told us, just before catching their taxi from Kalyani to Kolkata, from where they will fly to Guwahati to watch the second Test between India and South Africa.
Ranji Trophy 2025-26 Round 4: Result from every match
The Round 4 concluded on November 11th. Uttarakhand, Mumbai, and Uttar Pradesh secured innings victories on the third day. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu lost to Andhra by 4 wickets. Let's take a look at the results from every match of the Ranji Trophy 2025-26.
Round 4 of the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 began on November 8th, with 38 teams taking the field. The Round 4 concluded on November 11th. Uttarakhand, Mumbai, and Uttar Pradesh secured innings victories on the third day. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu lost to Andhra by 4 wickets. Let's take a look at the results from every match of the Ranji Trophy 2025-26.
Uttarakhand won by an innings and 28 runs against Haryana. Batting first, Uttarakhand scored 288 runs, and Haryana was bowled out for 112 in the first innings and 148 in the second. For Uttarakhand, Jagadeesha Suchith took the wickets of 5 batsmen in 18.1 overs, while in the second innings also he took the wickets of 6 batsmen in 26.4 overs.
Mumbai defeated Himachal
Batting first against Himachal, Mumbai scored 446 runs thanks to Musheer Khan's 112 and Siddhesh Lad's 127 runs, in response to which Himachal Pradesh was restricted to 187 runs in the first innings and 139 runs in the second innings. Mumbai thus won by an innings and 120 runs. Shams Mulani took five wickets for Mumbai in the second innings.
UP defeated Nagaland
Batting first against Nagaland, Uttar Pradesh scored 535 runs for the loss of 6 wickets in 138.4 overs. In reply, Nagaland was bowled out for 117 in the first innings and 153 in the second. Thus, Uttar Pradesh won the match by an innings and 265 runs. Shivam Mavi was the hero of the match, who, apart from scoring a century of 101 runs, also took the wickets of 5 batsmen in the first innings.
Andhra defeated Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu scored 182 runs in the first innings against Andhra, and Andhra was bowled out for 177. Tamil Nadu then scored 195 runs in the second innings, and Andhra responded with 201/6, securing a 4-wicket victory.
Ranji Trophy 2025-26 Railways vs Bengal preview: Sudip Gharami to lead, Aditya Purohit to debut for Bengal
Sudip Gharami will make his first-class captaincy debut in the Railways vs Bengal, Ranji Trophy 2025-26, Elite Group C match in Surat. Aditya Purohit is likely to make his debut.
After winning only one point against Tripura a few days back, Bengal will face Railways in their fourth round match of the Elite Group C contest in the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 at Lalbhai Contractor Stadium in Surat. In the absence of Abhimanyu Easwaran and Abishek Porel, Sudip Gharami will lead the Bengal team, as reported by Sportz Point earlier.
Match details
Match: Railways vs Bengal, Elite Group C, Ranji Trophy 2025-26
Date: 8 November 2025 - 11 November 2025
Venue: Lalbhai Contractor Stadium
Streaming: No streaming available
Spin-friendly pitch might produce a result
With most of the matches of Group C already producing results, Railways would love to take advantage of their conditions and go for an outright win when Bengal will miss stars like Abhimanyu Easwaran, Abishek Porel, Akash Deep, Mohammed Shami, and Mukesh Kumar.
As per the reports, the pitch at the Lalbhai Contractor Stadium will be a spin-friendly one, with Railways having spinners like Karn Sharma, the captain, along with Akash Pandey, who has done well for them in the last few seasons. Moreover, Akash Pandey, who is for Bengal, knows most of the Bengal batters as well.
Even Bengal will have Shahbaz Ahmed along with Rahul Prasad, who made his debut in the last match against Tripura last week.
Sudip Gharami will lead Bengal in Ranji Trophy for the first time.
As we had reported earlier, Sudip Gharami will lead the Bengal side with Abhimanyu Easwaran and Abishek Porel missing the game. Easwaran is in India-A duty, whereas Porel will be in action in the Rising Stars Asia Cup and has left for the Centre of Excellence (COE) before leaving for Qatar.
Gharami has led Bengal in the past in white-ball tournaments last season, where Bengal went on to qualify for the knockouts of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Due to the unavailability of the players, Bengal will now have three captains in the last three games.
Aditya Purohit to make his debut
Aditya Purohit during the practice session in Agartala.
After Kazi Junaid Saifi’s shocking return to first-class cricket, where he could only add 1 run in three innings (1,0,0), he was released from the squad. Now that makes the case for Aditya Purohit, another left-handed opener, who did well for Adamas Howrah Warriors in BPT20L and club cricket, to make his first-class debut.
Subham Chatterjee might return to the playing XI for Bengal.
Purohit will be opening the innings with captain Sudip Gharami, whereas we can expect Subham Chatterjee to return to the playing XI in the middle order. Shakir Habib Gandhi, who scored 95 in the first inning against Tripura, will continue as their No.3 along with Anustup Majumdar at 4.
Subham and Sumnata can bat anywhere in 5 or 6 with Shahbaz Ahmed at 7.
In the bowling department, Rahul Prasad will continue as the second spinner of the team, with Mohammed Kaif giving depth in the pace bowling department. Ishan Porel will be playing his 50th first-class match with Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal coming back in the lineup, replacing Mohammed Shami.
Points table situtation
Bengal are currently at No.3 with 13 points, while Railways are at No.5 with four points.
Ranji Trophy 2025-26 round 4: Matches, schedule and which matches will be streamed?
The last round of the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 was one for some of the older pros, as Ajinkya Rahane and Mohammed Shami put in starring performances. Prithvi Shaw also caught the eye with a rapid double century for Maharashtra.
The fourth round of the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 begins on 8 November, Saturday. A total of 19 games will take place across the Elite and Plate divisions. The last round of fixtures was one for some of the older pros, as Ajinkya Rahane and Mohammed Shami put in starring performances. Former teenage wonderkid Prithvi Shaw also caught the eye with a rapid double century for Maharashtra, having moved from Mumbai ahead of this season.
Only three teams across the four Elite groups, and the Plate group – Services, Haryana and Bengal have won both of their matches thus far. All three are in Elite Group C. Vidarbha, Maharashtra, Mumbai and Mizoram top Elite groups A, B and D and the Plate group respectively.
With 38 teams taking part across Elite (32) and Plate (six) divisions, as many as 19 matches will be held across different parts of the country in the fourth round.
Defending champion Vidarbha will be hosting Odisha, while domestic heavyweight Mumbai will welcome Himachal Pradesh. Haryana will be up against Uttarakhand on its home turf in Rohtak.
Ranji Trophy 2025-26: Round 4 Matches Schedule
Elite Group A
Andhra vs Tamil Nadu - 9 AM IST - Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA VDCA Cricket Stadium, Vizag
Uttar Pradesh vs Nagaland - 9:30 AM IST - Green Park, Kanpur
Baroda vs Jharkhand - 9:30 AM IST - Kotambi Stadium, Vadodara
Vidarbha vs Odisha - 9:30 AM IST - Vidarbha Cricket Association, Nagpur
Elite Group B
Kerala vs Saurashtra - 9:30 AM IST - KCA Cricket Ground, Mangalapuram, Trivandrum
Maharashtra vs Karnataka - 9:30 AM IST - MCA Cricket Stadium, Gahunje, Pune
Goa vs Madhya Pradesh - 9:30 AM IST - Goa Cricket Association Academy, Porvorim
Chandigarh vs Punjab - 9:30 AM IST - Cricket Stadium, Sector-16, Chandigarh
Elite Group C
Tripura vs Assam - 8:30 AM IST - MBB Stadium, Agartala
Railways vs Bengal - 9:30 AM IST - Lalbhai Contractor Stadium, Surat
Gujarat vs Services - 9:30 AM IST - Gokulbhai Somabhai Patel Stadium, Nadiad
Haryana vs Uttarakhand - 9:30 AM IST - Ch. Bansi Lal Stadium, Rohtak
Elite Group D
Hyderabad vs Rajasthan - 9:30 AM IST - Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad
Mumbai vs Himachal Pradesh - 9:30 AM IST - BKC Ground, Mumbai
Delhi vs Jammu & Kashmir - 9:30 AM IST - Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
Chhattisgarh vs Puducherry - 9:15 AM IST - Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, Raipur
Plate
Sikkim vs Bihar - 8:15 AM IST - SICA ground, Rangpo
Mizoram vs Manipur - 9:30 AM IST - Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium, Anand
Arunachal Pradesh vs Meghalaya - 9:30 AM IST - C K Pithawala Ground, Surat
Ranji Trophy 2025-26 Round 4: Live Streaming Details
Select Ranji Trophy 2025-26 round four matches will be live streamed on the JioHotstar app and website and telecast on Star Sports network.
Exclusive Bengal Cricket: New captain for the Railways match, Shami might not travel
Sudip Gharami might make his first-class captaincy debut in the match against Railways, starting from 8 November. Mohammed Shami is unlikely to travel with the squad.
Sudip Gharami might become Bengal's stand-in captain for the Railways match.
After returning with only one point against Tripura in Agaratala in their third match, Bengal will again, for the second time in this Ranji Trophy 2025-26 will have to look for a new captain. Not only that, they will have to add a new wicket-keeper batter after Abishek Porel’s India-A call-up for the Rising Star Asia Cup tournament in Qatar.
Mistakes cost Bengal six points
Okay, if not six, it definitely cost Bengal 3 points. Three dropped catches, and among them, three from the stand-in captain, Abishek Porel. Hanuma Vihari, who scored a three-point winning 141, was dropped twice by wicket-keeper Abishek Porel, one off Mohammed Kaif and one off his cousin brother Ishan Porel.
Later on, Anustup Majumdar could not hold on to a tough one of Vijay Shankar in the wide first slip as well. These mistakes allowed Tripura to make a comeback in the match. From 53/5, they scored 385 to earn their first point of the season.
If Bengal could hold onto those chances, they were surely in for six points, with Mohammed Kaif and Ishan Porel looking in rhythm, obviously alongside Mohammed Shami.
Sudip Gharami might become the captain for the Railways match
Gharami scored 108 against Tripura in the first inning.
Since Abishek Porel will be in the India-A team for the Rising Star Asia Cup, Bengal will have to look for a new captain for the second time in the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 this season. Abhimanyu Easwaran, who was named the captain ahead of the season, is currently unavailable till the Assam match due to India-A duties, and till then, Sudip Gharami might be made the captain of the side.
Sudip last year led Bengal in the white-ball format, and Bengal played in the knockouts of the Vijay Hazare Trophy as well under his captaincy. Although there is Anustup Majumdar, who can be captain as well, it is unlikely that the 41-year-old batter would take the responsibility just for one match.
Now, to replace Abishek Porel, Bengal will not only need a captain, but they will have to add a wicket-keeper batter as well. Keepers like Agniv Pan, Suvankar Bal, who have first-class experience, can be options as well. Meantime, U-19 or U-23 keepers can be called up for the Railways too.
Shami might not travel to Surat
Shami went wicketless against Tripura.
During the press conference after the match against Gujarat, Bengal head coach Laxmi Ratan Shukla had said to the media that it is not possible to expect Mohammed Shami will play all the matches of the season. Now, after playing three consecutive matches and going wicketless for the first time this season against Tripura, there will be a question about his workload.
So, the calculations might end up with Mohammed Shami not travelling to Surat for the match against Railways. It is unlikely that Bengal will add some other bowlers from outside the current squad. In that case, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal can come into the playing XI, with Sumit Mohanta continuing as a backup pacer.
Bengal will leave for Surat on 5th November.
When is the Railways vs Bengal, Ranji Trophy 2025-26 match?
The Railways vs Bengal, Ranji Trophy 2025-26 match will be played from 8th November 2025 to 11 November 2025 at Lalbhai Contractor Stadium in Surat.
Follow Us
