Seamer Praveen Kumar ‘ousted deliberately’
LUCKNOW: It seems quite harsh as former India speedster Praveen Kumar has reportedly been ‘dropped’ for the Elite Group A Ranji Trophy match between Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, starting Tuesday at the Ekana International cricket stadium here.
If sources are to be believed, ouster of Praveen, who could have just one wicket in 18 overs at the cost of 38 runs with seven maiden in the only-match so far this season, is allegedly deliberate as the attempt is to pave way for a seamer from Saharanpur.
The man in question was ‘inducted’ in the side last year too and in one-off match he remained wicket-less even after bowling 40 overs in two innings.
“There is no selection criteria in the state cricket as some people at the helm of affairs do things on their own and pic players as per their own desire,” one of the team officials told HT on condition of anonymity on Sunday.
He, however, confirmed that things aren’t good as they should have been in the team. “Many more things are happening behind the curtains and most of the people have nothing to do with team’s performances, and they are busy in enjoying their own areas of interests.”
Besides PK, Dhruv Pratap Singh has been sent to join the under-23 squad to play the next match against Odisha, starting Thursday, whereas Himanshu Asnora, who struck a century in the under-23 match last week, has been called back in the side.
Meanwhile, Monday could be a big day for UP skipper Suresh Raina as there is a chance for him to get a place in Team India when the all-India senior selection committee meets in Mumbai to pick teams for the three-match T20 series against New Zealand, Board President’s XI against Sri Lanka and the three-match Test series against Sri Lanka.
Even if Raina makes it to the T20 squad, he would be playing the tie against Maharashtra. The four-day tie ends on October 27, whereas the T20 series begins on November 1 with opening match being played at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground in New Delhi.
This would be the third match for the former champions Uttar Pradesh this season, whereas for Maharashtra, the tie would be the first in real terms as their opening match against Hyderabad was abandoned without a ball being bowled.
UP had to face a similar situation in their second match against Hyderabad last week when not even a single ball could be bowled in the four-day game due to the bad weather. The two teams have one point each.
The season opener against Railways at the Ekana International cricket stadium here witnessed a shaky performance from the players early this month as even after enjoying 68-run first innings lead and domination for almost two-andhalf days, UP lost the tie by 21 runs. Needing 95 to win the second innings after getting out Railways for paltry 161, UP collapsed for 72.
Both Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh teams had rigorous training sessions here on Sunday ahead of their official training schedule on Monday morning. In view of the success of Railway’s Avinash Yadav on the black surface of the Ekana stadium, having a left-arm spinner in the side would be on top of the agenda for both the sides.
IF SOURCES ARE TO BE BELIEVED, OUSTER OF PRAVEEN, WHO COULD HAVE JUST ONE WICKET IN 18 OVERS AT THE COST OF 38 RUNS WITH SEVEN MAIDEN IN THE ONLYMATCH SO FAR THIS SEASON, IS ALLEGEDLY DELIBERATE AS THE ATTEMPT IS TO PAVE WAY FOR A SEAMER FROM SAHARANPUR
TEAMS Maharashtra:
Ankeet Bawne (captain), Rahul Tripathi, Harshad Khadiwale, Swapnil Gugale, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Naushad Shaikh, Chirag Khurana, Jagdish Zope, Akshay Darekar, Rohit Motwani, Anupam Sankleeha, Samad Fallah, Pradeep Dadhe, Shrikant Mundhe and Nikit Dhumal.
Uttar Pradesh:
Suresh Raina (captain), Akshdeep Nath, Almas Shaukat, Himanshu Asnora, Shivam Chaudhary, Eklavya Dwivedi (w-k), Imtiaz Ahmed, Kartik Tyagi, Mohd Israr, Deependra Pandey, Ankit Rajpoot, Saurabh Kumar, Umang Sharma, Rinku Singh, Zeeshan Ansari.