BIG CHANCE FOR MANY TO MAKE A MARK
DULEEP TROPHY: LUCKNOW TO HOST ITS FIRSTEVER DAYNIGHT GAME
LUCKNOW: After a dramatic turn of events, which compelled the BCCI to restore the Duleep Trophy hours within its cancellation this season, it’s time for domestic cricketers to turn their attention on pink ball cricket under lights.
In the first match on Thursday, India Red will face India Green at the Ekana International Cricket Stadium, which will host its second first-class match.
“It’s a big opportunity for everyone to make a mark,” India Green’s skipper Parthiv Patel said. Patel, who had a half-century in his last Test appearance for India against England in December last, refused to accept that ending the old zonal system of the tournament has had an impact. “I don’t agree with the loyalty issue. Everyone is gunning for a place in the India team and everyone will be looking to give his best performance,” said Patel, who confirmed that spinner Parvez Rasool won’t be available for the match.
Stand-in skipper of India Red and former India stumper Dinesh Karthik admitted that a good performance in the season opener would be noticed. “It’s the beginning of the season and everyone would try to give his 100 percent.”
Skipper Abhinav Mukund has been replaced by Prithvi Shaw as he is suffering from dengue, whereas speedster Varun Aron makes it to the side as a replacement for Dhawal Kulkarni.
The third team in the fray India Blue-led by Suresh Raina would begin their campaign against India Red at the Green Park stadium in Kanpur on September 13, before taking on India Red in the last league match at the same venue from September 19. The final is slated here from September 25 to 29. SQUADS India Green: Murali Vijay, Ravikumar Samarth, Prashant Chopra, Shreyas Iyer, Karun Nair, Ankit Bawne, Parthiv Patel (c), Shahbaz Nadeem, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, Siddarth Kaul, Mayank Dagar, Nitin Saini, Aniket Choudhary.
India Red: Priyank Panchal, Sudip Chatterjee, Ishank Jaggi, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik (c), Rishabh Pant, Baba Indrajith, Krishnappa Gowtham, Karn Sharma, Basil Thampi, Varun Aaron, Ashok Dinda, Chama Milind and Prithvi Shaw.
Hours of play: 1.30 p.m. to 3.30 p.m; 4.00 p.m. to 6.00 p.m.; 6.30 p.m. to 8.30 p.m.