Irani Trophy , 2012

[Magneto]

IN between, good to see Udit Birla's name in one of challenger's team. He had shown good temperament in few chases which MP team had accomplished last year. There is no Jalaj Saxena. Is he on A tour to NZ?

Yes, Jalaj Saxena is in the A-team.

[ShebbySB]

East Zone won the Duleep Trophy, not Vijay Hazare Trophy :giggle: And Duleep Trophy is an FC tournament and not a List A tournament.

Ya my bad.East zone won the Duleep trophy last season.But I know abt the domestic tornaments. Ranji trophy-FC tornament among states. Duleep " -FC " " 5 zones. Vijay Hazare trophy-List A tournament among states. Deodhar " -List A " " 5 zones. Irani trophy-FC match between Ranji champs vs ROI NKP Salve Challenger Trophy-List A triangular tournament. Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy-T20 tournament among states.

[ShebbySB]

IN between, good to see Udit Birla's name in one of challenger's team. He had shown good temperament in few chases which MP team had accomplished last year. There is no Jalaj Saxena. Is he on A tour to NZ?

Yes:haha:

[ShebbySB]

Mukund got 5 Tests and a WI tour and did zilch. Rahane has failed in every opportunity he's got at the FC Level recently (tour games in Australia and the WI series). They're still surely in contention, but will not be forever. A couple more non-performing series and their spots will open up. People surely won't be getting long ropes for 18-20 months.

Both are yet to play a test on Indian soil.If they play in India & succeed then they'll feel that they belong to the test arena & feel confident abt their game. It's a positive recently that they're playing in foreign conditions with the A team. They've the ability & specially the temperament to gut it out in tough conditions. Don't forget that Virat also failed in away tests at first but he proved himself after he got chances.Rahane & Mukund should be given enough chances before we consider any other openers like Vijay.He had his chances but couldn't cement his place after 20 test inns.I'd play Rahane anyday as an opener in place of Kaanphident Sehwag or ever poking Gambhir.

[Magneto]

Both are yet to play a test on Indian soil.If they play in India & succeed then they'll feel that they belong to the test arena & feel confident abt their game. It's a positive recently that they're playing in foreign conditions with the A team. They've the ability & specially the temperament to gut it out in tough conditions. Don't forget that Virat also failed in away tests at first but he proved himself after he got chances.Rahane & Mukund should be given enough chances before we consider any other openers like Vijay.He had his chances but couldn't cement his place after 20 test inns. I'd play Rahane anyday as an opener in place of Kaanphident Sehwag or ever poking Gambhir.

Fanbai BTW, on Indian wickets Vijay wouldn't be bad as well. Averages 47.50, with a top score of 139 against Australia. He has failed miserably away from home; and by present evidence neither Rahane nor Mukund has done any better.

[Raghav_12]

IN between, good to see Udit Birla's name in one of challenger's team. He had shown good temperament in few chases which MP team had accomplished last year. There is no Jalaj Saxena. Is he on A tour to NZ?

Yes:haha:

I had also laughed at Jalaj Saxena's selection on WI tour and attributed that to the influence of Sanjay Jagdale. But, eventually he did well on WI tour and deserved to be on flight to NZ.

[Crookbond]

Saurabh Tiwary from being with the Indian side 2 years ago and coming close to a WC spot is not even good enough to be in the India A or challenger sides. Also wonder why Jaggi and Shahbaz Nadeem have been completely ignored.

Also, co incides with moving from Mumbai Indians to Royal Challengers Bangalore :wink2: Conspiracy theories aside, he never looked like a Test bat - more like a limited overs specialist.

[ShebbySB]

I had also laughed at Jalaj Saxena's selection on WI tour and attributed that to the influence of Sanjay Jagdale. But' date=' eventually he did well on WI tour and deserved to be on flight to NZ.[/quote'] It's not abt his performance,tons of other players are better than him in domestic cricket. He's not a specialist off-spinner,not a specialist batsman not even an all-rounder.He fields well though,a perfect eg of a bits & pieces player.India-A should've players who can & will represent India in future & I can't see him playing for India.Maybe Baba Aparajith should've been there in place of him,far better bat,better bowler & as good fielder as Jalaj.

[Magneto]

It's not abt his performance,tons of other players are better than him in domestic cricket. He's not a specialist off-spinner,not a specialist batsman not even an all-rounder.He fields well though,a perfect eg of a bits & pieces player.India-A should've players who can & will represent India in future & I can't see him playing for India.Maybe Baba Aparajith should've been there in place of him,far better bat,better bowler & as good fielder as Jalaj.

Without even scoring a half century at the Ranji Trophy you expect Baba to be playing 4-day matches for the India-A team?

[ShebbySB]

Fanbai BTW, on Indian wickets Vijay wouldn't be bad as well. Averages 47.50, with a top score of 139 against Australia. He has failed miserably away from home; and by present evidence neither Rahane nor Mukund has done any better.

:hmmmm2::hmmmm:

[deathmonger]

The Irani Cup fixture has been moved from Jaipur after the BCCI grounds and pitches committee chairman reported the conditions "unplayable" upon inspection More... Heavy rains force Irani Cup out of Jaipur Nagraj Gollapudi September 8, 2012 The Irani Cup fixture has been moved from Jaipur after the BCCI grounds and pitches committee chairman reported the conditions "unplayable" upon inspection. Venkat Sundaram, the committee chairman, visited the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Saturday and found the venue unsuitable for the September 21 domestic season opening clash between defending champions Rajasthan and Rest of India, despite desperate measure being put by the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA). "Because of heavy rains the playing conditions are not likely to improve," Sanjay Jagdale, BCCI secretary, told ESPNcricinfo. "Venkat Sundaram inspected the outfield and the wicket today and felt it would not be playable in the short period. We are now in the process of finding an alternate venue." Sundaram, who inspected the ground for about an hour in the morning, was "concerned" about the pitch, which he felt was in no condition to stage the match. "The outfield could be improved. But he [sundaram] felt it would be difficult to prepare the pitch in time - it needs top dressing which would mean at least four to six weeks of work," an RCA official said. "There is lot of water on and around the pitch still due to the rains. There was also fungus on the grass as the ground was locked for two months," the official said. Sundaram advised the groundsman and the RCA officials, including secretary KK Sharma, to take necessary measures to make the ground match fit for the rest of the season. The news would come as a setback for the RCA, which had been embroiled in a stalemate with the Rajasthan Sports Council (owners of the ground) since July and had been allowed entry to the ground only earlier this week. Despite not having access to the ground for two months, Taposh Chatterjee, the head groundsman at the RCA, was confident about getting the ground ready for the match. However, the inclement weather posed a threat to the preparation. "The biggest challenge would be the weather. Otherwise we are confident to get the ground ready in a couple of weeks," an RCA official had said on Tuesday.

who are you feed? :hysterical::hysterical::hysterical: who was that guy?

[Crookbond]

^ Carnish. :D

[ShebbySB]

Without even scoring a half century at the Ranji Trophy you expect Baba to be playing 4-day matches for the India-A team?

If Jalaj can be selected then why not Baba?

[vvvslaxman]

This is a new amendment and an extremely stupid one. In the Challenger Trophy, you expect to see teams of somewhat equal strengths, but this will not happen this time; how can they select the Bengal team as the third team in the Challengers when most of its players are out playing the World T20 and the India A-NZ A series? There is no Manoj Tiwary or Anustup Majumdar to bat, and neither do they have Dinda or Shami Ahmed to bowl. Saha is the only cricketer left who is of the same standards as the players of the other two teams. So, it will be no better than a club side and will get comprehensively thrashed by the other two sides. They should have instead selected a third side and accomodated some left out players or some U-19 players.

+1 Not only that. We miss out few more potentially good players from other parts of the country. Frankly stupid change.

[CoverDrive]

planning to go and watch this. I am expecting there wont be anyone there

[Magneto]

If Jalaj can be selected then why not Baba?

Because you don't select an A-side only on the basis of U-19 potential. Jalaj had a pretty good WI tour (in comparison to some domestic big-shots who embarrassed themselves) and has rightfully claimed his spot to the NZ series. There is no denying that Baba has potential, but on the evidence of his Ranji Trophy performances till now, he still needs some time to get into the FC level. He has only played 4 FC matches with a batting average of 17.33and a bowling average of 163. Is that good enough stats to be selected for the India-A team? I doubt he'll even get selected for the Tamil Nadu team this Ranji season which is filled with able batsmen. Or, are you saying that his U-19 ODI performances against a bunch of U-19 bowlers should be good enough to select him for FC matches for India-A? And he really didn't set the U-19 WC on fire as well with his batting. His scores were 5, 24, 14, 51,44 and 33. That is an average of 28.5 :giggle: So, all you are saying is to select a batsman for the India-A team because he has averaged 28.5 with the bat and 36 with the ball in the U-19 ODI WC tournament. :hmmm:

[carnish]

^ Carnish. :D

Salt on Wounds

[Crookbond]

Salt on Wounds

Pepper?

[BeautifulGame]

Because you don't select an A-side only on the basis of U-19 potential. Jalaj had a pretty good WI tour (in comparison to some domestic big-shots who embarrassed themselves) and has rightfully claimed his spot to the NZ series. There is no denying that Baba has potential, but on the evidence of his Ranji Trophy performances till now, he still needs some time to get into the FC level. He has only played 4 FC matches with a batting average of 17.33and a bowling average of 163. Is that good enough stats to be selected for the India-A team? I doubt he'll even get selected for the Tamil Nadu team this Ranji season which is filled with able batsmen. Or, are you saying that his U-19 ODI performances against a bunch of U-19 bowlers should be good enough to select him for FC matches for India-A? And he really didn't set the U-19 WC on fire as well with his batting. His scores were 5, 24, 14, 51,44 and 33. That is an average of 28.5 :giggle: So, all you are saying is to select a batsman for the India-A team because he has averaged 28.5 with the bat and 36 with the ball in the U-19 ODI WC tournament. :hmmm:

He will get selected as an All rounder at no 7 at worst.Afterall Yo Mahesh plays as the all rounder and comes in at no7 for us :((

[1983-2011]

Irani Cup 2012 - Rajasthan v Rest of India Match facts September 21-25, Bangalore Start time 0930 IST (0400GMT) Big Picture The last time the Indian domestic season's curtain-raiser, the Irani Cup, commanded serious national attention was back in 2008, when Sourav Ganguly was famously omitted from a Rest of India side that was close to being a full-strength India team. Every year since then the Irani Cup has clashed either with an international series or, in the case of last season, with the Champions League Twenty20. This year, cricket fans' attention is firmly on the World Twenty20 where the country's biggest stars are, and with an India A squad currently touring New Zealand, several other Test hopefuls will be missing from the Irani Cup. Still, the Rest of India side has six members of the Test squad that recently faced New Zealand, and start overwhelming favourites to retain a trophy they have won in each of the last six years. There is also Wriddhiman Saha, India's back-up Test wicketkeeper, and Dinesh Karthik has been picked ahead of Parthiv Patel, who captained Rest of India last season. Opener Shikhar Dhawan will have fond memories of last year's Irani Cup, after hitting 150-plus in both innings, and will have to turn in something similar to return to the selectors' attention after a poor A tour of the Caribbean. With domestic run-machines Cheteshwar Pujara, S Badrinath and Ajinkya Rahane also in the Rest of India line-up, Rajasthan have a huge challenge ahead. To make matters worse, they are missing several key players. One of the rocks of their top order, Aakash Chopra, has moved on to Himachal Pradesh, and two of their brightest young talents - middle-order batsman Ashok Menaria and fast bowler Rituraj Singh (26 wickets in four Ranji matches last season) - are with the A side in New Zealand. Their captain Hrishikesh Kanitkar said the side had the talent to cope with the losses. "Aakash Chopra was an important part of the team right from seeing off the new ball to making big runs. But his absence gives an opportunity to a youngster. Ankit Lamba is the man for the job. He has done very well so far." If all that was enough of a challenge, Rajasthan have also lost their home advantage, as heavy rains forced the match out of Jaipur. Players to watch Ishant Sharma was fast-tracked into the Test side when still a teenager, and after a fruitful tour of Australia in 2007-08, India seemed to have discovered a top-quality fast bowler. It hasn't quite gone to plan for Ishant, though despite almost always being a part of the XI since then. He seemed to have got his mojo back after a successful tour of West Indies last year, but forgettable series followed during the nightmarish visits to England and Australia. He is yet to play top-flight cricket after a lengthy lay-off due to an ankle surgery, and has lost his starting spot in the Test side to Umesh Yadav. With eight home Tests coming up, and India likely to field only two quicks in most of those, he needs to perform here to remind the new set of selectors of his ability. At 32, time is running out for S Badrinath. For ages he has been one of the most consistent batsmen on the domestic circuit, but kept out first by India's legendary middle-order quartet, and then by younger challengers. His most recent India chance came during the Caribbean visit in June last year, where he began with a Man-of-the-Match performance in the Twenty20 (his only India match in the format), before failing three times in the one-dayers to again find himself on the sidelines. Recalled to the national squad after VVS Laxman's retirement last month, he has to score big if he wants to grab the No. 6 spot from Suresh Raina. Left-arm spinner Harmeet Singh was one of the stars of India's recent Under-19 World Cup victory, and came in for high praise for his performance, none higher than Ian Chappell's comment that Harmeet was "the best spin bowler in any Test side bar England". That compliment sits oddly with Harmeet's struggle to get a first-class game: with Mumbai already having two left-arm spinners in Ankeet Chavan and Iqbal Abdulla, Harmeet has played only three first-class matches so far, despite debuting nearly three years ago. Even in the Irani squad, there is a senior left-arm spinner in Pragyan Ojha ahead of him. Will he get a game? Pitch and conditions Both captains had similar views on the nature of the track at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Cheteshwar Pujara, who played in the Bangalore Test earlier this month, said: "Looking at the wicket, we will go for three fast bowlers. There will be help for the fast bowlers in the initial couple of days as we saw in the Test match and it might turn later on." Kanitkar also said Rajasthan would look at a similar bowling line-up: "It will definitely help seam bowling. It has a bit of grass on it. But it is a wicket that supports fair cricket. We will also field three seamers." Quotes "We are playing a domestic match after a long time. For those who have not played Tests and ODIs recently, it is an opportunity to keep in touch with the game and start performing and get confidence out of this match." Pujara on the importance of the Irani Cup match "A couple of seasons back, Rajasthan have never won the Ranji for 76 years. So this record is not that imposing, it is just 10 years old. Hopefully, we will be able to win it this time." Kanitkar on being told that Rest of India have only lost twice this century