# Pondicherry cricket team

The Pondicherry cricket team (also Puducherry cricket team) is a cricket team that represents the union territory of Puducherry in Indian domestic competitions. In July 2018, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) named the team as one of the nine new sides that would compete in domestic tournaments for the 2018–19 season, including the Ranji Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
In August 2018, Abhishek Nayar, who previously played for Mumbai, decided to join the team. In September 2018, they won their opening fixture of the 2018–19 Vijay Hazare Trophy, beating Manipur by 8 wickets. However, the next day, the BCCI revoked the team's allowance around players from outside the state the team is located in, after concerns were raised that no local cricketers had played in the match. Eight players were found to be outside the BCCI's eligibility criteria.
In their first season in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, they finished in third place in the Plate Group, with five wins and two defeats from their eight matches. The other two matches finished as no results. Paras Dogra finished as the leading run-scorer, with 257 runs, and Fabid Ahmed was the leading wicket-taker for the team, with eleven dismissals.
In November 2018, they played in their first match in the Ranji Trophy, against Meghalaya, in the 2018–19 tournament. In their opening match in the tournament, Paras Dogra became the first batsman for Pondicherry to score a century in the Ranji Trophy. The match was affected by rain and finished in a draw. They finished the 2018–19 tournament third in the table, with four wins from their eight matches.
In March 2019, Pondicherry finished seventh in Group E of the 2018–19 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, with one win from their seven matches. Paras Dogra was the leading run-scorer for the team in the tournament, with 255 runs, and Parandaman Thamaraikannan was the leading wicket-taker, with seven dismissals.

## Squad

| Name | Birth date | Batting style | Bowling style | Notes |
| Batsmen |||||
| Akash Kargave | | Left-handed | Right-arm off break | |
| Ganga Sridhar Raju | (1993-04-25) 25 April 1993 (age 31) | Left-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
| Mohit Kale | (1996-11-27) 27 November 1996 (age 28) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
| Paras Rathnaparkhe | (1998-05-07) 7 May 1998 (age 26) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
| Jay Pande | (1994-09-20) 20 September 1994 (age 30) | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
| Anand Bais | (1991-07-18) 18 July 1991 (age 33) | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
| Jashwanth Shreeram | (2004-11-17) 17 November 2004 (age 20) | Right-handed | | |
| Vikneshwaran Marimuthu | (1992-08-30) 30 August 1992 (age 32) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Neyan Kangayan | (2003-05-17) 17 May 2003 (age 21) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
| All-rounders |||||
| Ankit Sharma | (1991-04-20) 20 April 1991 (age 33) | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | |
| Aman Hakim Khan | (1996-11-23) 23 November 1996 (age 28) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Fabid Ahmed | (1995-07-27) 27 July 1995 (age 29) | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
| Krishna Pandey | (1994-09-17) 17 September 1994 (age 30) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Parameeswaran Sivaraman | (2000-02-21) 21 February 2000 (age 25) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Wicket-keepers |||||
| Arun Karthik | (1986-02-15) 15 February 1986 (age 39) | Right-handed | | Captain |
| Ajay Rohera | (1997-06-04) 4 June 1997 (age 27) | Right-handed | | |
| Spin bowlers |||||
| Sagar Udeshi | (1986-10-14) 14 October 1986 (age 38) | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | |
| Sidak Singh | (1999-05-17) 17 May 1999 (age 25) | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | |
| Tejas Baroka | (1996-02-01) 1 February 1996 (age 29) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
| Pace bowlers |||||
| Gaurav Yadav | (1991-10-31) 31 October 1991 (age 33) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Vijai Raja | (1999-01-11) 11 January 1999 (age 26) | Left-handed | Left-arm medium | |
| Adil Ayub Tunda | (2002-07-10) 10 July 2002 (age 22) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Sabhay Chadha | (1998-07-07) 7 July 1998 (age 26) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Mohamed Safeequddin | (2000-08-21) 21 August 2000 (age 24) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
Updated as on 30 January 2025

## Coaching staff

* Head coach - Dishant Yagnik
* Bowling coach - Shaun Tait
* Manager and strength and conditioning coach - Kalpendra Jha