Ranji Trophy: Howrah ticket collector Ravi Singh averaging 58.2 after seven innings

Ravi Singh, a 25-year-old Railways batsman who works as a ticket collector in Howrah, has averaged 58.2 in seven Ranji Trophy innings, he said at the MAC Stadium on Saturday, two days ahead of Railways' Ranji game against Tamil Nadu.

New to First Class cricket, Ravi is known for hitting big in the shorter formats and has adapted quickly to the longer game. He moved from Varanasi to Lucknow to train under coach Saurabh Dubey but could not break into the senior Uttar Pradesh side before securing a Railways position that advanced his career.

Discussing his pathway into higher-level cricket, Ravi said: “After playing well for the under-23 side, I was called to the National Cricket Academy [now Centre of Excellence]. The Syed Mushtaq Ali and Vijay Hazare tournaments went quite well for me. Some of those matches were broadcast and the selectors at a higher level watched them. I was called for IPL trials, and, after seven or eight years of not playing anything [significant], things suddenly started falling my way,” Ravi said at the MAC Stadium on Saturday, two days ahead of the Ranji game against Tamil Nadu.

Ravi was acquired by Rajasthan Royals for ₹95 lakh in the IPL 2026 auction. He recalled preparing mentally for facing Jofra Archer in the nets and said: “Before facing Archer for the first time, I kept thinking ‘he’s such a renowned bowler and bowls so fast’. But by the time I went to bat, I was ready for the first ball and had correctly anticipated it was going to be a fast bouncer.

“I am quite close to Dhruv Jurel and Yashasvi Jaiswal. Since they have been consistently playing high-level cricket, I try to understand how they deliver strong performances in tough conditions. That way, I will know how to navigate them.”

His debut IPL season was curtailed by injury after just one game, but he remains an important member of the Railways side. The article notes that, despite recent progress, the journey is only beginning for the ticket collector.

Railways are scheduled to play Tamil Nadu in their upcoming Ranji Trophy match in two days, the next confirmed fixture mentioned in the report.