Ranji Trophy: Uttarakhand cricket’s inspiring journey unfolds as belief and unity drive side to its first semifinal

In 2021, when Manish Jha became the cricket coach of Uttarakhand’s men’s team, he sensed something lacking within the side.

Having only received BCCI affiliation in 2018, Uttarakhand was still finding its feet in Indian domestic cricket. Jha felt the team was yet to convince itself that it belonged among the best.

“When I took over, my biggest priority was the team’s belief system. I told them that they were not able to get into the knockouts because of that. I kept telling players that this is a game of belief—if you believe that you deserve to be among the elite, you will be there,” says Jha.

The culture of belief Jha advocated took root within the Uttarakhand side, slowly. The team steadily started to earn spots in the knockout stages of the Ranji Trophy, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Firsts are always special

Progress was evident. But you always need an eye-catching performance for validation. On Sunday, Uttarakhand produced just that, thumping Jharkhand in its own den by an innings and six runs to advance to its very first Ranji Trophy semifinal.

“I can’t describe my emotions in words. A small state like Uttarakhand, which has very few resources, has crossed all these obstacles and is going to play at the biggest stage of the Indian domestic circuit. It is a big, big achievement,” said a jubilant Jha.

Uttarakhand’s paucity of resources, as Jha mentioned, includes a lack of a permanent home base, which has a significant impact on preparation.

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“We don’t have our own ground. For camps, we have to rent them. The association doesn’t have a lot of funds to give us a very long camp. So, we stay in camps for a maximum of 15-20 days.

“At the same time, if you see a team like Bengal, Andhra, Mumbai, or Vidarbha—their camps are for 6-7 months. So, in comparison, we are lacking in that preparation phase. But at the same time, what are we doing better? As a unit, we come together and work even harder,” says Jha. 

United they stand

Rising from this adversity is a sense of unity within the squad, which, according to Uttarakhand skipper Kunal Chandela, is the foundation of his team’s newfound success.

“This is the result of all the hard work that the boys have done throughout the year. We are here today because of our teamwork,” suggests Chandela.

It is often easy to propose and emphasise ideas like unity to get a team to work better. What Jha and Chandela did was to wrap these concepts around a real-world benefit—recognition.

“Right from the beginning, our motive was to get to the final stages of the Ranji Trophy,” says Chandela. “That was because we understood that it opens doors for our players, like Duleep Trophy selection.

“When a team plays in the knockout stage, there will be recognition. All the selectors and big shots will see our team and our players. That was the motivation of the whole team. That was the basis of our unity,” he adds.

‘Marrying individual and team goals’

Jha concurred with his captain, adding that performances like these are the only way Uttarakhand players can climb the ladder.

“As a unit, we knew that until we perform in the knockout phase and get to at least the semifinal, our players can’t play in India. That was our hunger, the motivation that kept us together. And the results are there to see,” observes Jha.

Driven by this mutually beneficial idea of marrying individual and team goals, Uttarakhand players have made quite an impression this season.

Left-arm spinner Mayank Mishra is the leading wicket-taker this season with 52 scalps, which included eight in the quarterfinal.

Chandela is at the forefront with the bat, leading the side with 709 runs, which places him among the top 10 run-getters this season.

The 31-year-old scored an attention-grabbing double hundred in Uttarakhand’s last group-stage win against Assam. “As a leader, I want to be in the front and bat my team out of tough situations,” says Chandela.

While the contributions at the individual front merged in cohesion to the team’s benefit, Chandela was insistent on minimising the emphasis on the milestones.

“Our policy is that we will not look at the individual milestones. It doesn’t matter if someone is scoring a 100 or a 50 or getting five wickets. The team’s requirement has been our priority.”

Another feature of this Uttarakhand side that stands out is the chirpiness of its players. During the quarterfinal, every time they took the field, they made sure to drown the Keenan Stadium with their constant chatter. This included relentless streams of motivation for their bowlers and cheerful appreciation for good fielding.

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The only person who kept himself aloof from this chorus of positivity was Chandela.

“I agree that I am uptight on the ground. I can be a little strict,” agrees the Uttarakhand skipper. “Meanwhile, everyone is talking. Including the four players sitting outside and the support staff, everyone loves to be involved. We back everyone’s effort on every ball. If someone is having a bad day, we will take the initiative and help them.”

Fitness first

While qualitative factors like bonding and motivation did play their part in Uttarakhand’s fairytale run, Jha and Chandela cite one tangible element to be the biggest difference this season—fitness.

“We had set a fitness-first goal,” says Chandela. “I sent out a message that only those who pass our fitness test will play. Even if your performance goes up or down, that is fine. But we will not compromise with fitness. When the players are fit, they play the whole season, and the result comes, just like this season.”

This refocus on fitness is an output of Jha’s observation of a decline in his team’s performance towards the latter ends of previous seasons.

“When we were in the end phase of the tournament, our fitness was being challenged. And we couldn’t perform up to the expectation. This year, we made sure to cut down that angle.”

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This led Jha to devise a policy to track the fitness levels of senior players like Chandela, Mishra, and Abhay Negi, ensuring the team could work its way deep into the season.

Enabling Jha’s ideas is a sense of receptiveness among the players, which he believes is his team’s standout quality.

“The best thing is that the players here are very hardworking. You get them to work all day, and they will never say no to you. They don’t have a cribbing nature. They are very loyal.

“When your players have such a mindset, it is easy for you to execute a plan,” says a proud Jha.

Having scaled unprecedented heights, it is easy for a sense of complacency to creep in. But Mishra, Uttarakhand’s standout performer this season, believes this team desires something bigger.

“When a team gets into the quarterfinals four times in seven years, it means it is playing well. And when a team is playing well, its ambition is always to win the title. Our goal is not to just get into knockouts and be happy about it,” said Mishra.

Published on Feb 09, 2026