Shubham Ranjane gets maiden call-up to USA squad

Former Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai allrounder Shubham Ranjane has earned his maiden call-up to the USA national team immediately after fulfilling his residency requirements. One of the hottest white-ball properties in American cricket, Ranjane's power-hitting and reliable medium pace made his selection a no-brainer after three prolific years in the America's domestic system.

Joining him in the squad is MI New York pacer Rushil Ugarkar, the final-over hero of this year's Major League Cricket (MLC) final, who has also received his first international call-up.

Ranjane, 31, moved to the United States midway through the 2022 MiLC season and made an immediate impact, helping the Seattle Thunderbolts lift the title with his all-round performances. His USA selection caps off an extraordinary six months in which his stock has risen rapidly, securing deals in the SA20 and ILT20 leagues later this year.

He was surprisingly released by the Seattle Orcas ahead of MLC 2024, only to be snapped up as the No.1 draft pick by the Texas Super Kings, a move he vindicated with a standout campaign. Batting in the middle order, Ranjane smashed two half-centuries, averaged 67, and struck at over 160.

Ugarkar, 22, has been on the selection radar for some time, but finally broke through after a breakout season with MI New York. Trusted with the toughest overs, he repeatedly held his nerve at the death, most memorably in the MLC final, where he defended 12 runs off the last over against Glenn Maxwell and Glenn Phillips, one of the most dramatic finishes in the league's short history.

On the other side of selection, Aaron Jones and Shadley van Schalkwyk have been left out from the squad that played USA's home ODI series in May. While Van Schalkwyk's omission at 37 may be seen as inevitable for the younger Ranjane, Jones' exclusion is more noteworthy.

The former vice-captain, who served as Monank Patel's deputy until last year, has been a batting mainstay alongside Monank since his debut in 2018. Jones has scored 1,664 ODI runs in 52 matches, second only to Monank in USA's all-time list. However, with his poor form in recent 50-over cricket, with just one fifty in his last nine innings at an average of 23, and considering the kind of batting talent flowing through in the system, his selection remained on a sticky wicket.

USA currently sit top of the ICC WCL 2 table and begin their next leg on Sunday against Nepal. While attention will be on the team's performance on the field, the squad steps in under a cloud of administrative chaos with USA Cricket suspended by the ICC and legal battles with MLC dominating headlines since their last assignment.

Squad: Monank Patel (c), Jessy Singh (vc), Saurabh Netravalkar, Rushil Ugarkar, Nosthush Kenjige, Milind Kumar, Smit Patel, Shayan Jahangir, Juanoy Drysdale, Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Harmeet Singh, Yasir Mohammad, Saiteja Mukkamalla, Shubham Ranjane, Andries Gous