Well-known aspirants for a spot in India’s One-Day International team will hope to make a mark in the Deodhar Trophy that begins at the Ferozeshah Kotla here on Tuesday.
Ahead of the World Cup, the tourney offers the selectors a chance to firm up a tentative group of high-impact players in the 50-over format. For once, the winner of the Vijay Hazare Trophy – Mumbai — will not be in the fray; instead, three teams – India A, India B, and India C – will fight it out among themselves for a spot in the final, which is to be played on Saturday, October 27.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik leads the India A side, which features Test opener Prithvi Shaw, offspinner R. Ashwin, and Test triple-centurion Karun Nair, among others. Karthik will hope to utilise this opportunity to once again be in the reckoning as an attacking batsman and a reserve wicketkeeper; of late, he has lost ground to Rishabh Pant.
For long a regular in India’s Test and limited-overs teams, Ashwin will hope for resurgence, too.
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Explosive batsman Shreyas Iyer captains India B, a side that possesses Andhra one-day captain and recent Test debutant Hanuma Vihari, Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary, and reputed fast bowlers in Varun Aaron and Jaydev Unadkat, among others.
Reputed batsmen Ajinkya Rahane (captain) and Suresh Raina will play for India C. The side has three Tamil Nadu stars in Vijay Shankar, Abhinav Mukund and Washington Sundar. Mumbai stalwart Suryakumar Yadav and 2017 U-19 World Cup sensation Shubman Gill strengthens the batting.
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Rahane, a regular in India’s Test side, last played an ODI in India’s tour of South Africa in the 2017-18 season. Raina, on the other hand, finds himself out of the side after having played three matches in July, 2018, during India’s tour of England.
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