Predicting the winner will be hazardous

The National selectors certainly cannot complain of insufficient data when it comes to analysing a cricketer's value to the side. Hardly have they finished watching the form of players in the Wills Trophy, when they get another chance to evaluate the progress made by the India hopefuls, with the Deodhar Trophy commencing on Wednesday.

The first national level one day competition in the country was started in 1973-74 and it retained its popularity for many years. The advent of the Wills Trophy in 1977-78 took away some of the gloss associated with the Deodhar Trophy but its importance has not been devalued. A string of good performances in this competition will always attract attention, especially in the wake of the disastrous performance of the Indian team in the tri series `Down Under.' How many players from the five competing zones can make the elevation to the national side is of course a moot point. But the fact remains that the Deodhar Trophy tournament gives them enough opportunities. Matches are held on a league basis at various centres in the West Zone and the final round of games is scheduled for January 31. So a fit player in form is assured of four matches in which he can catch the selectors' eye.

The format of the competition, the vagaries of one day cricket and the fact that most of the participating teams are almost equally matched gives the tournament an open look. Predicting the winner is a hazardous exercise and given the composition of the sides, as also the fact that most of the players have already run into top form during the season, any one of the teams could end up taking the trophy.

The South Zone team, for example, is a well balanced outfit. Skipper Md Azharuddin, eager to make a comeback into the Indian team, gets one more chance to be in the selectors' notebook. South Zone's batting will revolve around the captain and vice captain, as also Reuben Paul, A Nandakishore, Arun Kumar, VST Naidu, S Sharath and Hemang Badani. The bowling looks strong and varied. Indeed, in Ganesh, Kumaran, Aashish Kapoor, S Mahesh, NP Singh and S Sriram, South Zone has perhaps the best attack of the competing teams.

North Zone has to be a serious contender for the title. Their forte is their batting. Led by former India player Vikram Rathour, who has been among the runs, the side has in its ranks in form batsmen like Ashu Dani, Virendra Shewag, Vijay Dahiya, P Dharmani, D Mongia and Rajiv Nayyar. But the bowling too, in the hands of Amit Bhandari, Robin Singh, Ashish Nehra and Sarandeep Singh looks capable of more than holding its own.

The chances of West Zone winning the trophy cannot be ignored. Led by discarded India stumper Nayan Mongia, the side has a host of players wanting to prove a point. The skipper himself would want to show that he is still the best stumper in the land. Vinod Kambli is another one who will be eager to catch the eye of the selectors. The 28-year-old left hander has been among the runs, but he is in good company for others who have making runs consistently during the season include Cecil Williams, Wasim Jaffer, Amol Muzumdar, JV Paranjpe, AV Kale, ND Modi and Sitanshu Kotak. The bowling too in the hands of Iqbal Siddiqui, Paras Mhambrey, Zaffer Khan and Nilesh Kulkarni, can pose a lot of problems for any batting line up.

Central Zone is another good all round side and Sanjay Bangar who did so well in the just concluded Wills Trophy tournament will be the cynosure. The 26-year-old Bangar is a neat striker of the ball with the ability to really go for the bowling in the slog overs. Gynanendra Pandey , who has represented the country in two ODI's is the captain. Much will depend on the 27-year-old UP all rounder. Central's batting should revolve around Jyoti Yadav, also in good form during the Wills Trophy, Gagan Khoda, Manoj Mudgal, R Ali, Abbas Ali, D Bundela, Jai P Yadav and Amay Khurasia, all of whom have been among the runs this season. The bowling looks less formidable by comparison but in HS Sodhi, P Krishnakumar, AW Zaidi and the in form Karthik Murali, they have an attack that could restrict almost any opposition.

East Zone are not without their strong points. Led by veteran left arm spinner Utpal Chatterjee, who represented the country in three ODI's in the mid 90s, they have the batting to pose problems for the more formidable looking teams in the competition. Saba Karim, Nikhil Haldipur, Rohan Gavaskar, N Ranjan, SS Das and SZ Zuffri have all been scoring consistently. The bowling however with the exception of LR Shukla and Utpal Chatterjee could be the weak link.

West Zone meet North Zone at Baroda and Central Zone play East Zone at Rajkot in the opening encounters on Wednesday. Further rounds will be played on January 22, 25, 28 and 31.