Bangar, Karthik caught the eye

It was not a total waste as far as the selectors were concerned. They would have picked up a point or two but that was about all the information they would have obtained from the six match Wills Trophy tournament which concluded on Monday.

Naturally enough, the Chandu Borde headed selection committee will also want to gather more information about the cricketing ability of the India hopefuls during the Deodhar Trophy tournament which will be played at various West Zone centres from January 19 to 31. But surely they would have expected more valuable information from the Wills Trophy tournament, given the fact that some of the leading contenders were taking part.

Given the knock out format of the competition, some players are bound to get only one chance and admittedly this is not the best way to judge a budding player's capabilities. But except for Sanjai Bangar, who was verily the man of the tournament, no other cricketer really emerged on the scene as a potential Indian player.

Bangar however really made a name for himself. It wasn't just his scores of 38, 51 not out and 71 not out that were impressive. He stood out as a bold striker of the ball who really went for the bowling in the slog overs. Everytime he came in at a vital moment, either when his side was not in a very strong position or when runs had to be got quickly and each time he obliged in a thrilling manner. Whether or not the 26-year-old utility player - he also showed his ability to pick up the odd wicket - is ready for the India cap or not, he certainly is a cricketer who has to watched with more than keen interest from now on. And the all rounder from Railways gets another chance to elevate himself up the ranks in the Deodhar Trophy tournament which commences on Wednesday.

Another young cricketer whom the selectors must have put down in their notebooks as one to watch closely was Murali Karthik. A left arm spinner with considerable control and variation, Karthik picked up nine wickets for 104 runs in three matches from 28.4 overs and was in particular good form in the final, illustrated by his bag of four for 17. Like Bangar, the 23-year-old Chennai born Karthik also plays for Railways.

The selectors must also have taken note of the performances of two opening batsmen. Jyoti Yadav's scores of 45, 52 and 56 cannot be ignored and Arun Kumar, with scores of 41, 71 and 26 showed that he has to be considered more seriously than ever before. Both Yadav and Arun Kumar have been getting runs consistently this season.

Much interest centered around Md Azharuddin. The former Indian captain, who turns 37 next month, is on the comeback trail but scores of 24, 56 and 0 could not have boosted his claims. He however gets another chance while leading South Zone in the Deodhar Trophy tournament.