Best playing XI of Ranji Trophy 2025-26 quarterfinals ft. Auqib Nabi, Sudip Kumar Gharami 

The 2025-26 Ranji Trophy quarterfinals came to an end on Tuesday, February 10, after Bengal sealed a convincing innings victory over Andhra. The other teams to have qualified for the final four are Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, and Karnataka, making for an interesting line-up, to say the least.

Karnataka overcame a stern challenge by Mumbai away from home to earn a hard-fought four-wicket win. Uttarakhand recorded a comfortable win over Jharkhand, while Jammu and Kashmir continued their rise in the domestic circuit with a win over Madhya Pradesh.

The semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy are scheduled to begin from February 15 onwards, with Karnataka drawn to face Uttarakhand, with Bengal facing Jammu and Kashmir for a spot in the final.

On that note, let us take a look at the best playing XI of the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 quarterfinals.

Top Order: KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Sudip Kumar Gharami

The senior Team India batter used all of his experience and skill-set to assist Karnataka’s mammoth fourth innings run chase in their knockout clash against heavyweights Mumbai. KL Rahul scored a brilliant 130 runs off 182 deliveries to continue his good run of form after a white-ball heavy season for India recently.

KL Rahul’s opening partner, Mayank Agarwal, also had a serious say in Karnataka’s four-wicket win over Mumbai in the quarter-final. Though he was dismissed for just three runs in the fourth innings, he scored more than half of the team’s total in the first innings. The right-handed batter played a lone knock of 92 runs off 134 deliveries, as Karnataka folded out for 174, in response to Mumbai’s 120.

Bengal’s No.3 batter, Sudip Kumar Gharami, played a marathon innings in the quarterfinal win over Andhra in Kalyani. The right-handed batter narrowly missed out on a historic triple hundred by just a single run, but helped his team amass 629 runs in the first innings. He became the first Indian batter in first-class cricket to lose his wicket on 299, and the third overall after Martin Crowe and Michael Powell.

Middle Order: Smaran Ravichandran, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shakir Habib Gandhi, Aaditya Singh

Smaran Ravichandran was the calm head that Karnataka needed during the nervy moments of their fourth innings run chase against Mumbai. The southpaw initially played the perfect aid to KL Rahul with his counter-attacking knock, putting on a solid knock that took the team close to the win. However, Mumbai fought back with wickets after the Tea Break, to reduce the score to 285-6, with the target still 40 runs away. However, he ensured that there were no late slip-ups and ended unbeaten on 83 runs off 123 deliveries.

Nitish Kumar Reddy has been struggling on the international circuit of late, but had a timely good outing against Bengal, despite Andhra’s crushing loss. He scored a handy and patient 33 in the first innings, and also dismissed Abhimanyu Easwaran for just one run. He chipped in with a valiant 90 in the second innings, top-scoring for the side by a distant margin.

The Bengal wicket-keeper came close to recording his maiden first-class hundred, but had to settle for a score in the nineties for the second time in three matches. Earlier this year, Shakir had scored an unbeaten 91 in the match against Services, and now against Andhra, he was dismissed for 95 runs after playing out 229 deliveries.

Aaditya Singh had a solid all-round game for Jharkhand against Uttarakhand, but could not prevent a crushing defeat by an innings and six runs. He scored 83 runs in the first innings after coming into bat at 80-5, and also chipped in with a couple of crucial wickets with the ball.

Lower Order: Auqib Nabi, Mayank Mishra, Kuldeep Sen, Mukesh Kumar

Auqib Nabi’s stocks continue to rise after the IPL Auctions as he starred for Jammu and Kashmir with multiple five-wicket hauls in the win over Madhya Pradesh. He bagged seven wickets in the first innings, including some high-profile scalps like Rajat Patidar and Venkatesh Iyer. He followed it up with a five-wicket haul in the second innings as well, leading to a 56-run win for the team.

Pacers Mukesh Kumar and Kuldeep Sen also had fruitful outings for their respective sides. Recently dropped from the central contract list, the Bengal pacer responded with a five-wicket haul in the first innings to bundle out Andhra in the first innings.

Kuldeep Sen, on the other hand, picked up nine wickets during the loss to Jammu and Kashmir, including a five-wicket haul in the first innings.

Uttarakhand’s Mayank Mishra was the player of the match in the win over Jharkhand as he picked up eight wickets in the contest. He picked up a match-winning figures of 5-22 in the second innings in 13.1 overs.