Kataka: The experienced Subhranshu Senapati has been retained captain the Odisha Ranji team for the 2026-27 season.
Selection committee chairperson Kulamani Parida and Head Coach Pravanjan Mullick on Monday announced a 17-member squad for the first two matches of the season.
The squad includes four new faces — 23-year-old Om T Munde, Shreyansh Bhardwaj (20), Soumya Lenka (22) and 17-year-old Sambit Beja — who will be looking to make their first-class debut.
Subhranshu apart, the specialist batters are Swastik Samal, Gourav Choudhary, Sandeep Pattnaik and Shantanu Mishra, while Aashirwad Swain and Dinesh Majhi are wicketkeepers who can bat.
Ninad Rathva and teenager Sambit Beja are the two all-rounders, while the pace attack comprises Lalit Yadav, Rajesh Mohanty, Prashant Rana and Soumya Lenka. Sayed Tufayl Ahmad and Badal Biswal have been included as left-arm spinners.
Odisha, who have been placed in Elite Group C, will begin their campaign against Gujarat at the Narendra Modi Stadium B Ground in Ahmedabad from October 11 to 14.
The other teams in a difficult eight-team group are Bengal, Delhi, Jharkhand, Kerala, Maharashtra and Services.
ODISHA SQUAD FOR FIRST 2 MATCHES
Swastik Samal, Subhranshu Senapati (captain), Om T Munde, Gourav Choudhary, Shreyansh Bhardwaj, Sandeep Pattnaik, Shantanu Mishra, Aashirwad Swain (wicketkeeper), Dinesh Majhi (wicketkeeper), Ninad Rathva, Lalit Yadav, Rajesh Mohanty, Prashant Rana, Soumya Lenka, Sambit Beja, Sayed Tufayl Ahmad and Badal Biswal.
ODISHA’S FIXTURES IN 2026-27 RANJI TROPHY
Vs Gujarat – in Ahmedabad, Oct 11 to 14.
Vs Kerala – in Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 18 to 21
Vs Services – in Bhubaneswar (KIIT Stadium), Oct 26 to 29
Vs Jharkhand – in Bhubaneswar, Nov 2 to 5
Vs Delhi – in Kataka (Barabati Stadium), Jan 17 to 20, 2027.
Vs Maharashtra – in Pune, Jan 24 to 27
Vs Bengal – in Kolkata, Feb 1 to 4.
