Umran Malik Left Out of J&K Ranji Trophy Squad for Opener
The pace sensation misses selection as Jammu and Kashmir name a 15-member group led by Paras Dogra for their season opener against Madhya Pradesh.
Jammu and Kashmir have unveiled their 15-player squad for the opening round of the Ranji Trophy 2026-27, and the most talked-about absentee is fast bowler Umran Malik. The speedster, once celebrated for touching 150kph in the IPL, was not included despite reportedly wanting to feature this season.
Paras Dogra will captain the side, which includes Auqib Nabi, Shubham Khajuria, Abdul Samad, Abid Mushtaq, Kanhaiya Wadhawan and Sahil Lotra. The other members are Qamran Iqbal, Yawer Hasan, Shubham Pundir, Sunil Kumar, Kawalpreet Singh, Vanshaj Sharma, Nasir Lone and Rohit Sharma.
Malik's exclusion stems from his ongoing struggle to find rhythm following a string of fitness problems. Since 2023 he has dealt with dengue, a toe issue, a left hamstring strain and a stress fracture in his left hip, the last of which ruled him out of the whole 2024-25 domestic season and IPL 2025. He returned to action late last year after rehabilitation in Bengaluru, but his most recent Ranji outing against Rajasthan on October 25, 2025 brought no wickets, with figures of 0/26 and 0/9.
J&K begin their campaign on October 11 against Madhya Pradesh.