New Delhi, Jan 10 (IANS) Pacer Umran Malik has been left out of Jammu and Kashmir’s squad for the Ranji Trophy preparatory camp, set to happen in Pondicherry. Malik, who has played ten ODIs and eight T20Is for India, was in the squad for the first half of the Ranji Trophy, but played only one game against Rajasthan in Srinagar and went wicketless.

In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Malik played five matches and took six wickets, but was omitted from the squad for the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Opener Qamran Iqbal, who hit a century in Jammu and Kashmir’s memorable Ranji Trophy win over Delhi at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, has also been omitted.

The JKCA has included Dikshant Kundal and Kawalpreet Singh, while Umar Nazir and Shubham Pundir also return to the squad. Jammu and Kashmir will begin their Ranji Trophy phase two campaign against Pondicherry at the Sichem Stadium from January 22-25. Head coach Ajay Sharma will join the team on January 17.

It is followed by a clash against Himachal Pradesh from January 29 to February 1 at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Cricket Stadium in Nadaun. The Ranji Trophy knockout matches are slated to be played from February 6-28. Jammu and Kashmir are currently at second place in Elite Group D after table-toppers Mumbai with 20 points from five games.

“To prepare the J&K Team for the tournament & acclimatise the team, the Management has decided to send its team to Pondicherry. The players and Members of Support staff of the team will travel directly to Chennai under the arrangements of JKCA on 16th January, 2026 from their respective locations.

“The team will then travel in the Bus from Chennai to Pondicherry arranged by the Cricket Association of Pondicherry. No individual movement from Chennai to Pondicherry is allowed,” further said the JKCA.

Jammu and Kashmir squad for Ranji Trophy preparatory camp: Shubam Khajuria, Dikshant Kundal, Yawar Hassan, Paras Dogra, Abdul Samad, Shubham Pundir, Kanhaiya Wadhwan, Kawalpreet Singh, Abid Mushtaq, Vanshaj Sharma, Sahil Lotra, Auqib Nabi, Yudhvir Singh, Umar Nazir and Sunil Kumar

–IANS

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