Saransh Jain’s all-round impact drives MP’s ambitions in Ranji Trophy
Since the start of the 2022-23 Ranji Trophy season, only four players have taken at least 75 wickets and scored over 1000 runs in India’s premier red-ball competition: Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Darshan Misal, and Madhya Pradesh’s Saransh Jain.
Saransh, a languid left-handed batter and metronomic off-spinner, offered another reminder of his all-round ability at the Holkar Stadium on Tuesday by scoring a resilient 67 with the lower-order to complement three first-innings wickets against Kerala.
His performance added to what has been an impressive Ranji Trophy 2025-26 season. He is MP’s top run-scorer, with 330 runs at an average of 110, and he has the second-most wickets in the team, with 17 at 21.70.
“As a player, it is always good to contribute for your team, and recently my performances have been very good,” Saransh said after play on Tuesday. “I’m very grateful that I’ve been able to take on the challenges in the situations I’ve been in recently.”
One such challenge came in the previous round of Ranji Trophy fixtures, when he took six wickets and played a matchwinning knock of 82 not out against Goa in Porvorim after MP conceded a 97-run first-innings lead. Batting with the lower-order, he guided the side to a three-wicket victory in the final minutes of day five. It is an innings he ranks among his best.
“I think that it was one of my best innings. The surface was a difficult one, we were chasing 320 (328), and they had taken some wickets,” he recalled. “But my mindset was just that the team had to win, and the mentality the coach has given us is that the match is never over until the last ball of the game. So I went with that mindset, God was with me, and touchwood, we were able to win.”
His batting is an area he has worked hard on. “I’ve enjoyed batting since childhood, and I never take it for granted. I know that in today’s cricket culture, that is the demand if you are going to fit into the team as an all-rounder,” he said. “So I practise batting a lot in the off-season, in different places and on different surfaces. You could say I love batting a lot.”
Saransh’s current Ranji success followed an impressive Duleep Trophy, where he scored 136 runs and took 16 wickets for Central Zone. In a tournament filled with accomplished players, his returns earned him Player of the Series.
The tournament also let him showcase his quality. “It’s a big tournament, where the whole world sees you live, and all the big players who are almost closing in on an India cap are there. If you perform with them, then you are also at that level. So it was a great opportunity, and I am glad I was able to grab it,” he said.
As one of the more established faces on the domestic circuit now, the all-rounder has encountered a range of conditions, bowling on both flatter wickets and those more suited to spin.
That experience has convinced him he will always be in the hunt for wickets. “On a flat pitch, it’s not easy to get wickets, but if you bowl with consistency in one place, today’s batters are more attacking, so it can happen naturally,” he explained. “If you can keep bowling your stock ball in one place, you will get chances. On a spinning wicket, you have to dominate because you’re a premier bowler.”
Having made a strong start to this season’s Ranji Trophy, Madhya Pradesh will expect to make a deep run in the tournament. On the basis of his early-season form, there is little doubt it will rely on Saransh as one of its premier bowlers in that pursuit.
Published on Nov 19, 2025
