Ayush Doseja, a rare bright star in Delhi's dark, dull 2025-26 Ranji campaign

New Delhi: Delhi's Ranji Trophy season ended on Sunday with another one-pointer, their fourth of the season that saw them fail to earn even a single win in their seven matches and finish in lowly seventh place in Group D, just ahead of Himachal Pradesh who ended in eighth place.

In short Delhi's season went like this: Won first innings points against Hyderabad and Himachal Pradesh in the first two games, lost first innings points against Puducherry, lost outright to Jammu and Kashmir, then lost first innings points to Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Mumbai.

But a silver lining still emerged amid the heavy, dark clouds -- Ayush Doseja shone as batsman in his debut season and also impressed as a leader when he was given captaincy in the last match of 2025-26 against Mumbai. Doseja is on top of the run charts pan-India with 949 runs at an average of 105.44 with four centuries and five fifties. His exploits included a double century (209 vs Hyderabad) in the opening game of the season, which was also his Ranji Trophy debut. While Doseja leads the run charts, Delhi opener Sanat Sangwan is second on the run-getters' list with 828 runs at an average of 69 with three centuries and three fifties.

Ayush Doseja is the top run-getter in Ranji Trophy this season

Doseja's grit and determination stood out throughout the season -- he stood at the crease at the Ferozeshah Kotla in a game this season even while he had fever and the resilience was evident again during the season's final match against Mumbai at the Bandra-Kurla Complex.

Delhi had conceded a 96-run lead in first innings and they had lost the two openers with just over half the deficit cleared.

But Doseja leading the side, as Ayush Badoni and Priyansh Arya were both called up for India A duties, played a remarkable knock rescuing Delhi from a probable defeat. He made 159 not out off 230 balls with 11 fours and two sixes.

The experience of leading the Delhi under-23 side in the past came in handy.

"I got official confirmation a day before the match, during practice. I had heard that Ayush Badoni and Priyansh Arya were going [for India A matches], so it wasn't that much of a surprise because I felt that since I had led the under-23 Delhi team, I might get a chance. I enjoy the leadership role and I have captained my club (Ravi Brothers) too," said Doseja on arrival in Delhi.

"The teammates were supportive. Fortunately I had runs under my belt this season. So that gave me confidence to step into Ayush Badoni's shoes."

It helped that most of the players were around his age, maybe just a year or two older than him.

The 23-year-old is a delight to watch -- he can knock the ball around with dabs and deft touches and can also bat aggressively.

Doseja was expected to debut last year in January against Saurashtra but unfortunately got injured.

This year he was included in the playing XI right from the first match as Delhi decided to blood in youngsters. The 209 in the first match and his big partnership with the other double centurion Sanat Sangwan helped him cement his place in the team. He followed it up with a couple of half-centuries (75 and 64 not out) in the next match against Himachal Pradesh. A 17 against Puducherry was followed by back-to-back fifties (65 and 62) against a strong J&K bowling attack. He scored one and 64 against Rajasthan and then came the match against Chhattisgarh where he made back-to-back hundreds (104 not out and 129). Doseja ended the season with 159 not out in second innings after a first innings duck against Mumbai.

"The start to the season was great and the it all went well thereafter. Tt was a dream to play and do well against Mumbai. I was also captaining against them. That was a big responsibility. I wanted to enjoy every moment. There was no pressure and I batted fearlessly. Although I was dismissed early in the first innings, the ball was good but I wasn't that disheartened. I put in great effort and captained well. In the second innings, I went in with the idea of scoring runs of whatever ball I would get and dominate," said Doseja, who regretted the lack of performance from Delhi spinners.

"We played well as a unit. We batted well and could have done even better. But if our spinners were good enough, the results would have been better."

Tags : Ayush Doseja, Ranji Trophy, cricket, Delhi, Sanat Sangwan, Ayush Badoni, Priyansh Arya