Underwhelming for years, Odisha are looking beyond immediate results and investing in the next generation as they embark on a fresh Ranji Trophy cycle under head coach Pravanjan Mullick.After several seasons of treading water in the Elite Group without mounting a serious knockout challenge, Odisha selectors and team management have taken a long-term view, rebuilding the red-ball squad around promising youngsters from the state’s Under-19 and Under-23 set-up while moving on from some of the side’s established veterans.The most notable decisions came in the omission of experienced campaigners such as Biplab Samantray and Govinda Poddar, both long-serving pillars of Odisha cricket. For Mullick, however, the move was not about age but impact.The coach revealed that the management and selectors had held extensive discussions before the pre-season camp and concluded that Odisha’s senior side needed a reset after years of middling performances. While acknowledging the contributions of the senior players, Mullick said the team needed “fresh legs” and players capable of taking the side forward in the coming years.“We felt that if we give the junior boys one or two years, they will gain experience and the future of the team will become stronger. These boys can serve Odisha cricket for the next four or five years,” Mullick said.That thinking has seen several youngsters who impressed in age-group cricket earn promotion to the senior side. Batters such as Om T Munde and 20-year-old Shreyansh Bhardwaj, pacer Soumya Lenka and 18-year-old off-spinning all-rounder Sambit Beja have been rewarded after consistent performances across Under-19 and Under-23 levels, with Mullick keen to fast-track talent he has closely monitored during his years working within Odisha’s junior cricket.Having served as chairman-cum-selector of the junior teams before taking over as head coach, Mullick believes his familiarity with the state’s emerging talent pool gives Odisha a unique opportunity to build sustainably.“I have seen these U-19 and U-23 boys for the last three years. Now some of them are in the Ranji set-up. If we keep picking the same players and the team remains where it is, then why not bring in youngsters and move forward?” he said.The transition comes against the backdrop of a prolonged struggle in Ranji Trophy. Odisha have remained in the Elite Group but have rarely threatened the top sides in recent seasons, often finishing campaigns with a handful of wins and draws without coming close to the knockout stage. The management’s belief is that a younger core, allowed time to develop together, can deliver stronger returns two or three seasons down the line.At the same time, Odisha have not relied solely on youth. For the first time, the state association has turned to professional players from outside Odisha to strengthen key areas of the squad.Vidarbha pacer Lalit Yadav and Baroda all-rounder Ninad Rathva have been recruited as professionals after a selection process that involved trials. According to Mullick, Odisha had received applications from outside professionals in the past but had generally not pursued that route. This season, however, the team management felt additional experience and quality were needed.Former Hong Kong captain Anshuman Rath is the only other ‘outsider’ on record to have played domestic cricket for Odisha, his place of birth, for two seasons starting in 2021.Rathva and Yadav have been involved with the squad since the fitness camp began in June and were integrated into preparations throughout the red-ball camp at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack and the subsequent exposure tour to Puducherry, where Odisha played matches against Mumbai, Himachal Pradesh and the hosts.Those games, combined with nearly three months of structured preparation, have helped shape a squad that Mullick believes can compete while simultaneously building for the future.Continued to be led by the experienced Subhranshu Senapati, who was a part of the recent Duleep Trophy-winning East Zone side, Odisha will take on former champions Gujarat in the season opener in Ahmedabad and the message from the coach to his players has been simple: “You’ve nothing to lose, everything to gain.”While Odisha’s immediate challenge remains improving on years of underwhelming Ranji campaigns, the larger objective is clear. The state has chosen to back youth, supplement it with proven professionals and lay the foundations for a more competitive side in the seasons ahead.For Mullick and his selectors, success may not be judged solely by this year’s results, but by whether this new generation can eventually turn Odisha into genuine contenders on the domestic stage.Squad for first 2 matches: Subhranshu Senapati (captain), Swastik Samal, Om T Munde, Gourav Choudhury, Shreyansh Bhardwaj, Sandeep Pattanaik, Shantanu Mishra, Aashirwad Swain (wk), Dinesh Majhi (wk), Ninad Rathva, Lalit Yadav (professionals), Rajesh Mohanty, Prashant Rana, Soumya Lenka, Sambit Beja, Sayed Tufayl Ahmad, and Badal BiswalOdisha’s fixtures (Group C): vs Gujarat in Ahmedabad (Oct 11-14); vs Kerala in Thiruvananthapuram (Oct 18-21); vs Services in Bhubaneswar (Oct 26-29); vs Jharkhand in Bhubaneswar (Nov 2-5); vs Delhi in Cuttack (Jan 17-20); vs Maharashtra in Gahunje (Jan 24-27) and vs Bengal in Kolkata (Feb 1-4)Best-ever finish: Semifinals in 2000-01 season (lost to Baroda on first-innings lead)Recent best finishes: Quarterfinals in 2016-17 (lost to eventual champions Gujarat) & 2019-20 (lost to eventual runners-up Bengal) seasons