Padikkal replaces Mayank Agarwal as Karnataka captain in Ranji Trophy

Devdutt Padikkal has replaced Mayank Agarwal as Karnataka's captain ahead of their Ranji Trophy match against Punjab, their last of the league stage.

But while Mayank was removed from captaincy, he was named as one of Karnataka's six specialist batters for their match against Punjab in a squad that also included KL Rahul. Rahul has played just two Ranji Trophy games since the start of 2018, with his last appearance in the tournament coming against Haryana in January 2025.

The decision comes at a time when the KSCA administration has undergone some changes, with former India fast bowler Venkatesh Prasad elected as the new president. The KSCA had formed a new selection committee in December, headed by former Karnataka allrounder Amit Verma.

Mayank has scored 298 runs in nine innings at an average of 33.11 this season, with a century and two fifties. Padikkal made scores of 96 and 15 in the first game of the season but didn't play any of the other games in the first half of the Ranji Trophy. He then went on to have a dream run in the Vijay Hazare Trophy as Karnataka made the semi-finals, finishing as the second-highest run scorer with 725 runs from nine innings at a staggering average of 90.62. However, in their defeat to Madhya Pradesh in their last Ranji game, Padikkal registered two ducks, facing just three deliveries across the two innings.

Karnataka's batting has also been boosted by the return of Ravichandran Smaran, who missed their last game with injury. But they will be without Karun Nair, who suffered a split webbing against Madhya Pradesh, and hasn't yet recovered. Nair didn't bat in Karnataka's second innings in that game, with Nikin Jose substituting om the field for him.

The match against Punjab will also see Prasidh Krishna lead Karnataka's attack. The fast bowler is also set to make his first appearance this season after playing two games last season.

The defeat to Madhya Pradesh means Karnataka's game against Punjab in Alur is a must-win for them. They are currently third in Group B with 21 points, with Maharashtra (24 points) and Madhya Pradesh (22 points) ahead of them. Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh play each other in their last game of the league stage.