Sehwag, Raina under scanner- Challenger Trophy

[DesiChap]

- Fringe players desperate to perform ahead of home series vs Pak

Ahmedabad: The premier domestic one-day tournament, NKP Salve Challenger Trophy, begins at Motera Thursday with the spotlight on fringe players who get another chance to impress selectors before announcement of Indian squad for home series against Pakistan. India Blue skipper Virender Sehwag, who has found it difficult to regain his form, will be prominent among those watched keenly by the national selectors during this three-day day-and-night event. Sehwag was last seen in action in ODIs when he opened for Asia XI in a game against Africa XI in Chennai in January 2007. Sehwag had scored just eight runs. Even in the recent Twenty20 match against Australia in Mumbai, Sehwag just made five runs. In the series opener, Sehwag & Co will lock horns with India Red, led by Mohammed Kaif. Looking to impress the selectors will be young Suresh Raina who last played an ODI in a home-series against the West Indies in January 27, 2007. Other players from the India Blue team including wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik, allrounder Joginder Sharma, spinner Ramesh Powar and Bengal paceman Ranadeb Bose will also be trying to put up impressive performances. Kaif will also be looking to flourish with the bat during the series, which is expected to be witnessed by the selectors. The squad for the Pakistan series will be announced on the sidelines of the Challenger Trophy tournament. Other India Red players including southpaw Gautam Gambhir, S. Badrinath and pacer Ishant Sharma, who recently represented India, will try to cement their places in the national side. The third team in the tournament — India Green — led by wicketkeeper batsman Parthiv Patel will play their first match on Friday. The performances of promising youngsters in this squad like opener Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Abhishek Nayar, Iqbal Abdullah will be also be watched keenly. The BCCI, meanwhile, has appointed Vijay Patel as the India Green coach. Patel replaces Venkatesh Prasad, according to an official release from the Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA). India Green pacer Munaf Patel, who was overlooked for the recent series against Australia, will also try and prove his worth with the leather. TEAMS India Red (from): Mohammed Kaif (capt), Gautam Gambhir, S. Badrinath, Karan Goel, Virat Kohli, Ravneet Ricky, Praveen Kumar, Mahesh Rawat (wk), Pragyan Ojha, Siddharth Trivedi, Ishant Sharma, Pinal Shah, Shrikant Mundhe and Paresh Patel India Blue (from): Virender Sehwag (capt), Ajinkya Rahane, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Swapnil Asanodkar, Niraj Patel, Arjun Yadav, Joginder Sharma, Ramesh Powar, Amit Mishra, Yo Mahesh, Ranadeb Bose, Suresh Raina, Rakesh Dhruv and Saurabh Bandekar Match starts: 2.30pm (live on Neo Sports). (Agencies)

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1071025/asp/sports/story_8471271.asp

[Holysmoke]

Scary title, I was thinking they did some Income Tax fraud!

[DesiChap]

Scary title' date=' I was thinking they did some Income Tax fraud![/quote']:hysterical:

[DesiChap]

A stage to showcase talent The Preview by Nagraj Gollapudi in Ahmedabad October 24, 2007 Parthiv Patel: "It's a great opportunity for me to carry forward my consistency. Guys like Robin Uthappa were spotted at the Challengers." © AFP Window of opportunity. That's what the Challenger Trophy has always been. On the face of it that same spirit should be evident in the latest edition that rolls on for the next four evenings starting on Thursday at Motera. But the wannabes and the been-there-and-wanting-to-be-there-again aiming to get through that window will have to prepare for a cramped squeeze-in. Unless any player gets injured or the selectors dare to actually phase out the seniors, not many spots are up for grabs. With majority of the Indian one-day squad making use of the short interval before they return to the international arena against Pakistan early November, this edition might just be one for the record. Last time the intensity was apparent with the likes of Sourav Ganguly fighting to retain his place. The timing was right too: it was the beginning of the season and the international players were fresh from a break, and the challengers had an opportunity to pit themselves against the best. This time, with the first XI being given a break after a packed four-month shift, the event has been robbed of glitter, occasion, and needle. Lalchand Rajput, the coach of the India Red team, and who was the interim manager for the recently concluded series against Australia, said that despite the absence of the top rack, a good performance here could still stir the selectors into pushing for a name when they meet to pick the squad for the first two ODIs against Pakistan. "It's still a platform for youngsters to perform consistently," said Rajput, whose squad had a light practice session under lights, along with the India Blues squad that was overseen by Praveen Amre. The Blues captain Virender Sehwag was scheduled to arrive later on Wednesday evening. If it was Ganguly's presence that gave Challenger the edge last time, it may be the turn of Sehwag, Munaf Patel, Piyush Chawla, Suresh Raina, Mohammad Kaif, Parthiv Patel to draw the crowds in. It's also a chance for someone like Dinesh Karthik, who seems to have lost his way after a sparkling Test series against England, to re-estabilish himself, while others like Ranadeb Bose, Ishant Sharma, Yo Mahesh, Manoj Tiwary and Subramaniam Badrinath have an opportunity to press their cases too. One of the national selectors told Cricinfo why the tournament, despite its low-star value, was important. "We'll be looking at the performances of players who are coming out of injuries to determine their match fitness. Secondly, also at certain players who perfrom consistently." He said that with India playing constantly during the season, the selectors' rotation policy would require a solid bench-strength. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India's one-day captain, had said he was in favour of the rotation policy. "It's an advantage and you have to keep your outfit fresh." Parthiv Patel, who has been scoring consistently on the first-class front over the last year, feels playing the Challengers is "a great opportunity for me to carry forward my consistency." Leader of the Indian Green team who play their first game on Friday, Parthiv also said that the event is the best way for the lesser-knowns and the unknowns to make their mark. "Guys like Robin Uthappa were spotted at the Challengers. That is what Challenger Trophy is all about. It's a short way of getting recognised." Pitch report The three pitches that will be used for the four games are all, in the curator's jargon, surface-free-grass tracks. While there is some grass cover which will help the fast bowlers get bounce and movement, batsmen should relish the opportunity to play their strokes once they've settled in. The curator, Dhiraj Parsana, assures it would be a one-day wicket with consistent bounce. The locals' prediction of the scores hovering around the 270-mark is supported by the scorecards in the last four games played here during the the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy. As for the critical dew factor, that makes the toss that much more important, Parsana feels it could come down to the players' skills and strategies to defeat that and force a result. "Teams need to focus on their strengths and then choose what is best for them. In the end it's the team psychology which will determine the result." Nagraj Gollapudi is an assistant editor at Cricinfo http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/indiandomestic/content/story/316836.html

[fineleg]

Is this on Zee Sports? Can someone confirm?

[DesiChap]

Yes Zee sports is showing it.

[Cricketics]

forget RAina.. all eyes on Virat KOHLI

[Guest Hiten.]

I hope raina comes good in this series.... this chap has amazing batting style and his fielding is just awesome :two_thumbs_up:

[Keep-It-Cool]

how much can one read into a potential Sehwag or Kaif or Raina century with most of the main bowlers being rested?

[fineleg]

how much can one read into a potential Sehwag or Kaif or Raina century with most of the main bowlers being rested?

hi k-i-c, welcome to the forum. I certainly hope the above 3 fire well. We cannot read too much into it, however - if they fire here, it gives some hope. I dont think any one of them will get into Pak ODI series based on this, and they will need to continue the form in other domestic tournaments. At some point, if the Yuvi-Kaif-Raina offside cordon fielders come together in Intl matches, it will be great! Add to it maybe onside protection from Rohit Sharma-Robin Uthappa If Parthiv Patel succeeds, I'd hope he can be drafted into Pak series squad. The guy has been doing very well with the bat. What do you think?

[apocalypse]

4 wicketkeepers in a team? who will get the boot then FL?

[abhinav]

4 wicketkeepers in a team? who will get the boot then FL?

How does it matter if we have four WKs in the team..as long as they are doing better then the 'specialist' batsmen..I will take them. On current form, Parthiv deserves a chance.

[conjure1985]

parthiv patel, better batsman than 'who'...hahaha i think he ll have to wait till dhoni and dinesh karthik to retire

[Guest dada_rocks]

Parthiv Patel in test cricket is better batsman than both dhoni and karhtik

[Chaos]

Parthiv Patel in test cricket is better batsman than both dhoni and karhtik

yea in ur dreams, his catch drops alone costs us more than 300+ runs each INNINGS!

[theguyinallblue]

Parthiv can surely claim a spot as a batsman in the Test team... he is surely a better batsman than KKD...plus his keeping too has improved .. he must be kept in the loop...