Ranji Trophy final: J&K won't try 'extraordinary' things vs Karnataka

Jammu and Kashmir captain Paras Dogra said the team is confident ahead of its first-ever Ranji Trophy final against Karnataka and will stick to the strategy that brought them success, avoiding anything 'extraordinary'.

Jammu and Kashmir captain Paras Dogra expressed confidence and said the team will not try anything "too extraordinary" ahead of their Ranji Trophy 2025-26 final against Karnataka starting here Tuesday.

J-K had registered a six-wicket victory over Bengal in the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 semi-final to enter their first-ever final in the tournament's history.

'Won't try anything too extraordinary'

Speaking to ANI ahead of the finals clash, Paras Dogra said that the team is excited and confident after consistent performances. The Jammu and Kashmir cricket team captain added that they won't adopt any special strategy, instead sticking to the approach that has brought them up till now.

"It's a great atmosphere. Playing in the final is a different experience, and all the boys have performed well so far, and they're all confident. So let's see what happens in the final. There's no strategy. We've been playing good cricket for the last two years, so we'll use whatever strategy has gotten us results. We won't try anything too extraordinary," Paras Dogra said.

Coach on instilling belief in youngsters

Ajay Sharma, head coach of the Jammu and Kashmir cricket team, said he encouraged the young players to believe in their talent. He said that initially, they were more focused on the IPL and white-ball cricket than the Ranji Trophy, but victories against strong teams like Vidarbha gave them confidence that they could beat anyone.

"They're all youngsters, and when I joined the team, I told them to just believe in themselves, you have talent. But initially, it seemed like they only wanted to play the IPL and white-ball cricket; they weren't interested in playing the Raji Trophy, which is red-ball cricket. So, when we defeated big teams like Vidarbha in Nagpur, that's when they started believing we can beat anyone," Ajay Sharma told ANI.

(ANI)

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