Another India Star Makes Ranji Trophy Return, Joins UP Squad

Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav has been included in the Uttar Pradesh (UP) squad for their Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh at Holkar Stadium in Indore from Thursday onwards. Kuldeep, having not played any competitive cricket since the first Test against New Zealand at Bengaluru in October 2024, is making his return to the sport after a hernia surgery, as per ESPNCricinfo. With both UP and MP out of contention for the quarterfinals, Kuldeep will get some quality game time to check his fitness and rhythm ahead of the three-match ODI series against England from February 6 onwards. Kuldeep is a part of that series and in the provisional ICC Champions Trophy squad as well.

On Monday, he had thanked the National Cricket Academy (NCA) staff for their help in his recovery. Taking to social media, he had written, "Recovery takes a team. Grateful to the NCA and it's team for all the work behind the scenes!"

Recovery takes a team. Grateful to the NCA and it's team for all the work behind the scenes! ???????????????? pic.twitter.com/dHhwngvpaG

Apart from Kuldeep, various Indian stars such as Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Riyan Parag will also be in action during the last league stage of the competition.

In 42 first-class matches, Kuldeep has taken 161 wickets at an average of 29.14, with best figures of 6/79. He has taken eight five-wicket hauls in his career so far. He has also done a decent job with the bat, scoring 1,039 runs in 42 matches and 56 innings at an average of 21.20, with a century and six fifties. His best score is 117.

UP Squad:

Aryan Juyal (captain, wicketkeeper), Karan Sharma, Abhishek Goswami, Madhav Kaushik, Priyam Garg, Rituraj Sharma, Aaditya Sharma (wicketkeeper), Shivam Mavi, Saurabh Kumar, Shivam Sharma, Kritagya Kumar Singh, Vijay Kumar, Atal Bihari Rai, Vaibhav Chaudhary, Zeeshan Ansari, Kartikeya Jaiswal, Kartik Tyagi, Kuldeep Yadav.

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