It was a disappointing day for both Rishabh Pant and Rohit Sharma in their respective Ranji Trophy matches on Thursday, but both the India stars gave their fans at the stadium something to cheer as they obliged with autographs and pictures.
India's Test regulars made their respective return to Ranji Trophy after BCCI made domestic cricket participation compulsory in a bid to stay relevant for a place in the national side. However, all the batters, with a list including Shubman Gill, and Yashasvi Jaiswal, had forgettable outings for their teams.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Pant, who last played in India's premier domestic competition in the 2017-18 season, strolled out to bat for his team Delhi. His outing lasted 10 balls before he fell for one. India Test and ODI skipper Rohit, on the other hand, who played his first match for Mumbai after nine years, proved to be disappointing as well as the opener got out for three in 19 balls.
Rohit, Pant oblige fans
Despite a poor show on their first day back in the Ranji Trophy, both Indian stars showed heartwarming reactions towards the crowd. After the day's show in Rajkot, Pant walked up to the fans at the venue in Rajkot where one of the spectators touched his feet leaving him embarrassed. He then obliged them with pictures and autographs.
{{/usCountry}}Despite a poor show on their first day back in the Ranji Trophy, both Indian stars showed heartwarming reactions towards the crowd. After the day's show in Rajkot, Pant walked up to the fans at the venue in Rajkot where one of the spectators touched his feet leaving him embarrassed. He then obliged them with pictures and autographs.
{{/usCountry}}At the MCA Ground in Mumbai, most spectators had left the venue after Rohit's disappointing outing, bit for the ones who stayed back, the 37-year-old gave them autographs at the end of Day 1 of the match against Jammu and Kashmir.
With still an innings left in the match and possibly another game in the roster, these India stars will get a chance to script a turnaround. Former India captain Virat Kohli was among the only high-profile names to have skipped the sixth round of Ranji Trophy matches due to a sprained neck, but is expected to turn out in the next match, starting January 30.
India's next Test assignment will be their tour to England for five matches starting in June.