India's star players, including Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, and Shubman Gill, made a high-profile return to the Ranji Trophy, but their comebacks were short-lived, as all three fell cheaply during the penultimate round of the premier red-ball competition on Thursday.
Rohit, back in action after a challenging run in Australia, was looking to find some rhythm ahead of the Champions Trophy. However, his return to the Ranji Trophy was underwhelming as he was dismissed for just 3 runs in Mumbai's first innings against Jammu and Kashmir.
Rohit attempted his signature pull shot off Umar Nazir, only to edge it to J&K skipper Paras Dogra at mid-off. His opening partner, Yashasvi Jaiswal, also had a tough time, getting out for just 4 runs, trapped in front by Auqib Nabi, who exploited the fresh wicket well to produce some movement off the surface at the BKC Ground.
Shreyas Iyer, named in the Champions Trophy squad, could only manage 11 runs before being dismissed at mid-on off pacer Yudhvir Singh.
Meanwhile, in Rajkot, Pant made his first-class appearance for Delhi since the 2017-18 season but was dismissed for just 1 run off 10 balls by Saurashtra's Dharmendrasingh Jadeja, with India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja also featuring for Saurashtra.
In Bengaluru, Shubman Gill didn't last long either, getting caught behind for just 4 runs in the match between Punjab and Karnataka, falling to Abhilash Shetty in the fourth over.
The big names made themselves available for the Ranji Trophy after the BCCI mandated participation for contracted players in domestic cricket, following India's series loss to Australia. However, despite the anticipation around their returns, the stars couldn't make an impact in the ongoing round of matches.