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The Ranji Trophy 2025-26 second round of matches is set to begin on October 25, 2025, featuring a plethora of exciting fixtures across various venues in India. This season has 32 teams competing in the Elite Group, with matches spread across multiple states.
Several star players will play by their respective states in the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 round 2. Let's have a look at the 5 star players to watch out in the round 2 matches.
1. Rajat Patidar
Rajat Patidar has been appointed captain of the Madhya Pradesh cricket team in Ranji Trophy 2025-26 season. Patidar impressed everyone by scoring maiden First Class double hundred, during his side’s Ranji Trophy 2025-26 match against Punjab in Indore. He reached the landmark figure off the 328th ball of his innings. With this, he bettered his best previous best First Class score, a 196 he scored against Tamil Nadu in the 2018 Ranji season.
The double ton marked a continuation of Patidar’s incredible run in 2025. Earlier this year, he had led Royal Challengers Bengaluru to its first IPL title and then followed it up by captaining Central Zone to its first Duleep Trophy win in a decade.
2. Ravindra Jadeja
India’s star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is set to play for Saurashtra in its second-round Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh. The 36-year-old was left out of the three-match ODI series in Australia, where India slipped to an unassailable 0-2 deficit following a two-wicket loss in Adelaide on Thursday. His return to domestic cricket comes as valuable match practice ahead of India’s upcoming Test assignments.
Jadeja, the top-ranked Test all-rounder, recently dominated the two-match home series against the West Indies. He was instrumental in India’s 2-0 victory, scoring his sixth Test century (an unbeaten 104 in the first Ahmedabad Test) and taking eight wickets across the series.
3. Abhimanyu Easwaran
Bengal’s consistent top-order batter Abhimanyu Easwaran will lead the Bengal team this season. Easwaran struck three half-centuries in five innings for India A after the previous domestic season had concluded. His most-recent fifty for Bengal was for Rest of India in the 2025 Irani Cup.
Easwaran will play for India-A against South Africa-A during Bengal’s third round match, and will look forward to give a noticeable performance and get picked for the South Africa series.
4. Prithvi Shaw
After moving from Mumbai to Maharashtra this season, Prithvi Shaw was looking for a fresh start in domestic cricket. But things didn’t quite go his way. The right-handed opener was dismissed for a duck in his first innings, marking a disappointing beginning to his new chapter. But after first innings, in the next innings, he made a gritty 75.
Shaw, who has been working hard to revive his red-ball career, will be eager to bounce back in the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 round 2 matches. His aggressive batting style has often made him a match-winner in the past, and Maharashtra will be hoping he finds his rhythm soon.
Also Read: Ranji Trophy 2025-26: Which matches will be streamed LIVE?
5. Mohammed Shami
Mohammed Shami, the star Indian fast bowler, has made a sensational start to the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season. Playing for Bengal, the pacer claimed seven wickets in his team's opener against Uttarakhand at Kolkata's Eden Gardens. The performance comes amid questions over his fitness after he was left out of international games in recent months due to alleged poor physical fitness.
Shami regaining his rhythm to produce a match-winning seven-wicket haul in nearly 40 overs was the biggest positive for Bengal. He must be eager to record even better figures for the host and eye his return to the Indian team.
