Srinath backs off from Irani encounter
The Indian first class season officially kicks off tomorrow with the Irani Trophy in Mumbai between the Ranji Trophy champions and the Rest of India
Sankhya Krishnan
12-Oct-2000
The Indian first class season officially kicks off tomorrow with
the Irani Trophy in Mumbai between the Ranji Trophy champions
and the Rest of India. The Irani fixture which is usually held
in the first week of October has been put back by about a week
this time. That has meant the game will be forced to take
the backstage tomorrow as all eyes follow India's progress in
the ICC KnockOut in Nairobi. But the clash promises to be keenly
fought and there is little really to choose between the two squads.
Rest of India have a clear edge in the batting stakes with a
line-up that boasts Sadagopan Ramesh, Shiv Sunder Das, VVS Laxman,
Mohd. Kaif, Jacob Martin and Reetinder Sodhi. However they have
suffered a setback through the last minute pullout of pace spearhead
Javagal Srinath due to a knee problem. He has been replaced
by his Karnataka team mate Dodda Ganesh who was yet to reach
Mumbai as of Thursday evening. The team had a rigorous workout
late in the day and skipper Laxman expressed himself happy
with the preparation. Laxman said that the final composition
of the eleven would be decided on the morning of the match by
the national selectors.
Groundsman Nadeem Memon suggested that the wicket would provide
good purchase for the seamers. He said the pitch was hard and
would last the full five days and the bounce offered would also
assist spin bowlers who are not afraid to flight the ball. Memon
was of the opinion that the side winning the toss should bowl
first so that the opening bowlers could take full advantage of
the conditions in the first session. Laxman believed there was
not as much grass on the wicket as during the Ranji final between
Hyderabad and Mumbai in April which was the last first class
game held at the Wankhede Stadium.
The Mumbai team have a chance to try out a few options in the absence of
Tendulkar, Kambli and Agarkar. Opening batsman Vinayak Mane and seamer Swapnil
Hazare, both among the second batch of trainees at the National Cricket
Academy, will be keenly watched as will middle order batsmen, Kiran Powar and Nishit Shetty. The city was lashed by showers on Wednesday evening but the clouds have since cleared and the ground bears no tell tale signs.
The squads:
Rest of India: VVS Laxman (captain), Sadagopan Ramesh, Shiv Sunder Das,
Mohd Kaif, Jacob Martin, Abhijit Kale, Virender Shewag, Ashish Nehra, Ajay
Ratra, Murali Kartik, Dodda Ganesh, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Sharandeep
Singh and Reetinder Sodhi.
Mumbai: Sameer Dighe (captain), Wasim Jaffer, Vinayak Mane,
Amol Muzumdar, Ramesh Powar, Rajesh Pawar, Nilesh Kulkarni, Kiran
Powar, Paras Mhambrey, Santosh Saxena, Shriram Kannan, Nishit
Shetty, Swapnil Hazare, Amit Dani and Sushant Manjrekar.