Delhi bank on pace and youth

Where they finished last season
Topped Group A with five wins in eight matches, took the first-innings lead in the quarter-final, but then lost the match to Mumbai

Big picture
If Delhi were a team the fans still cared about, they would have released a book of jokes about the way the Delhi & Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) has run into a comical controversy at each turn this year. It is hard to remember a time the DDCA was not in controversy, but that has not stopped Delhi from providing more international cricketers than any other state in the recent past. Last year there was no dearth of controversy, but on the field, they were the best team in the league stages.

On the field, even this year, write Delhi off at your own peril. They have lost Virender Sehwag and Mithun Manhas to other states, they have left out Rajat Bhatia, which will bring pressure on themselves. They have chosen a largely young side - captain Gautam Gambhir and pace bowler Sumit Narwal are the only ones in their 30s - on the insistence of Gambhir. Coach Ajay Jadeja, former Test cricketer himself, says he has told Gambhir he is the boss. Gambhir is a successful IPL captain, Ranji Trophy is easier to win than the IPL, and should Delhi's natural feeder system provide him with enough good youngsters Delhi can be solid contenders.

The batting will rely on Gambhir and Unmukt Chand. Parvinder Awana, Narwal, Pradeep Sangwan and Pawan Suyal are a solid pace attack by domestic standards. Around them, in five players who have no first-class experience and three who have played under 10 matches, Delhi have an unknown quantity.

"For any coach, when you have young players coming in, their mindset or game plans are not set," Jadeja said. "It is easier to mould someone who is young and does not have set ideas. I think it becomes easier for a coach when you have someone who is 18, 19 or 20, and not too experienced."

Players to watch
Gautam Gambhir has seen many a Delhi player say he has had enough of the administrative mess, but he has chosen to stick with Delhi cricket despite there being an offer from Bengal, where he is loved by the Kolkata Knight Riders fans. He has not shied away from bringing all the pressure upon himself by leaving out the veteran Bhatia. In a state association run by proxy he is not fighting by proxy. If he scores the runs and leads Delhi well, this could be a commendable achievement.

In the absence of experience, old warhorse Sumit Narwal becomes a key player. He can be sharp on his day, but more importantly he knows how to take wickets. Last Ranji season he took 24 at 19.83, and also scored 229 runs batting down the order.

Coaching staff
Former India and Delhi player Ajay Jadeja, who is yet to retire from first-class cricket, will be the coach, Amit Bhandari will be the assistant coach and Manoj Kapoor will be the manager.

Preparation
Delhi's preparation has been marred by controversy. Three different squads announced, two different mentors to oversee the nets sessions, various complaints about lack of balls to practice, they have seen the works.

Squad
Gautam Gambhir (capt), Unmukt Chand (vc), Vaibhav Rawal, Milind Kumar, Nitish Rana, Yogesh Nagar, Dhruv Shourey, Manan Sharma, Pulkit Narang, Mohit Ahlawat (wk), Parvinder Awana, Sumit Narwal, Pradeep Sangwan, Pawan Suyal, Sarang Rawat

In their own words
"Whether we win the Ranji Trophy at the end of the season remains to be seen but the only aim of anybody who walks into that dressing room is to win the Ranji Trophy because we are not here to participate, we are here to win."
Coach Ajay Jadeja

Where they finished last season
Having suffered a defeat at the hands of Delhi, and played out three draws, Rajasthan were in a must-win situation against a strong Punjab side. Had they lost, Rajasthan would have been relegated. Pankaj Singh, like he has done many times in the past, inspired Rajasthan to victory, but the two-time champions failed to secure a knockout berth, finishing seventh in Group B with two wins.

Big picture
What would be the biggest challenge for Rajasthan this year? If you have to believe Pankaj, Rajasthan's senior-most player and captain last year, there are two: the team has to be united and secondly, the batting department has to be consistent to allow the young but promising fast bowling line-up to stay hungry.

Rajasthan managed to score 300 runs in an innings only thrice last year. There were only three centuries in the entire season and one of the batting mainstays in the last five years, Robin Bist, has moved to Himachal Pradesh. That remains a big grey area. "Even to save points and draw matches the bowlers need at least 350 runs on the board," Pankaj said.

The onus is on Vineet Saxena and Ashok Menaria, who is the stand-in captain for the first two matches after Pankaj was ruled out due to injury. Saxena, the opener, is the most senior batsman and has been the team's best batsman for the past many years. But he needs support from the middle order.

According to Pankaj, Menaria needs to rise to the occasion and take the responsibility. In the past Menaria, a former India Under-19 captain, has been overwhelmed and distracted by the responsibility. But Pankaj felt if Menaria can keep his focus and not get bothered by external factors, he has the capability to keep the team united.

Rajasthan's preparation has not been ideal with uncertainty over their participation which was cleared only 10 days before the domestic season started. Sensing the nerves, Amrit Mathur, the co-ordinator appointed by the BCCI to the selections panels, asked former India opener Aakash Chopra to give a motivational chat on the eve of their first match. Chopra was a professional with Rajasthan when the team won their maiden Ranji Trophy title in 2011 and then defended it the following year.

Chopra's message to the players was clear: team bonding leads to team's success. According to him the main reason behind two successive Ranji titles was Rajasthan's team spirit - something Chopra had never experienced in the various teams he had been part of.

Players to watch out for
Ashok Menaria was Rajasthan's third-highest run-scorer in the last Ranji season. In the absence of Bist, Rajasthan will need Menaria to be the backbone in the middle order.

According to Mathur, no less than former India captain Rahul Dravid was impressed by the 19-year-old Nathu Singh. About six feet tall, Nathu is the latest fast-bowling prospect that has excited the Rajasthan selectors. Saxena rates him as the quickest Rajasthan fast bowler and also one of top five in the country. Other than raw pace, in the range of 135-140 kph, sharpness to attack the stumps have been listed as Nathu's strengths by his peers. Having performed well for Rajasthan Under-19 last year Nathu played in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament last season and was also part of the NCA development team. Pankaj has one bit of advice for the youngster: stay fast, but make sure you are consistent.

Coaching staff
Amit Asawa (coach), Anshu Jain (assistant coach), Pervez Bhati (physiotherapist), Ram Swaroop Singh (trainer).

Preparation
The RCA turmoil and the court proceedings did not leave too much time for any well-planned preparatory camp for the players, who also could not participate in the invitational tournaments organised by various state associations in the lead-up to the domestic season. Three two-day trial matches were followed by a short three-day camp and the squad for the first two matches was picked on September 25.

Team news
Pankaj is undergoing rehabilitation at the NCA in Bangalore to recover from back spasms that affected him during the final match last season and once again resurfaced a few times in the past month. He will miss at least the first two matches.

In their own words
"The main goal should be we need to retain our position in the Elite Group. We need to create and maintain a positive dressing room keeping in mind all the distractions we have had to deal with even before the season has started. So there has to be unity in the team to help build momentum."
Pankaj Singh, Rajasthan captain

Squad for the first three games
Ashok Menaria (captain), Vineet Saxena, Dishant Yagnik, Pranay Sharma, Rajesh Bishnoi, Puneet Yadav, Arjit Gupta, Ankit Lamba, Ajay Singh Kukna, Aniket Choudhary, Nathu Singh, Deepak Chahar, Manjeet Kumar Choudhary, Madhur Khatri, Surya Prakash Suwalka

Where they finished last season
Sixth in Group A. Apart from Bengal, Railways were the only team to go without a win in the top two tiers of the last Ranji season.

Big picture
Railways' middling Ranji Trophy performance was sandwiched between a quarter-final finish in the Vijay Hazare Trophy towards the start of the season and a decent outing in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Going into this Ranji season, Railways assistant coach Zakaria Zuffri, also a former player with the side, has stressed on the importance of aggression to push for more wins.

The side had managed only two 300-plus scores last season and this is where the solidity of opening batsman Saurabh Wakaskar can prop them up. Wakaskar was the leading run-getter for Baroda last season, striking 578 in 8 matches at 48.16 and has moved to the Railways side. Much will also depend on the experience of their captain Mahesh Rawat and legspinner Karn Sharma.

Karn, who was ruled out of the Zimbabwe tour after suffering a finger fracture, will be eager to hit form and send a reminder to the national sections. The pace attack rests mainly with Anureet Singh and Krishnakant Upadhyay while medium-pacers Amit Mishra and Ranjit Mali offer useful back-up options.

Players to watch out for
Anureet Singh was one of the central forces behind Railways' progress to the quarter-final in the 2013-14 season and backed it up with 32 wickets in eight matches at 22.96 last season. Besides being known to bowl long spells, Anureet is also a good exponent of yorker as he showed during the IPL.

An offbreak bowler, Arnab Nandi picked up two wickets and marshaled a late rally against Tamil Nadu in Chennai at the close of 2014 but Railways' victory bid was thwarted by rain. Nandi has shown occasional sparks of brilliance but Railways will want him to step up further and contribute more consistently with the bat and ball.

Coaches
Former India pacer, Harvinder Singh, is the head coach of Railways and will be assisted by Zakaria Zuffri. The rest of the support staff includes Azariah Prabhakar, the trainer and Irfan Ullaha, the physio.

Preparation
Railways held a 25-day off-season camp in Amritsar to strengthen both the skills and fitness of their players. Anureet Singh also turned out for India A in the T20 against the South Africans in Delhi.

Team news
Wakaskar has joined Railways from Baroda. The left-arm spinning pair of Ashish Yadav and Avinash Yadav have been left out of the squad for the first three games.

Squad for the first three games
Mahesh Rawat (captain and keeper), Ranjit Mali, Rohan Bhosale, Anureet Singh, Ashish Singh, Prashant Awasthi, V Cheluvaraj, Faiz Ahmed, Arindam Ghosh, Hitesh Kadam, Anustup Majumdar, Amit Mishra, Arnab Nandi, Krishnakant Upadhyay, Karn Sharma, Saurabh Wakaskar

In their own words
"We have a balanced squad with a good mix of youth and experience. I am happy with the progress during the training camp and we are definitely looking to go forward this season." Railways assistant coach Zakaria Zuffri