KL Rahul has been chosen in the list of Karnataka probables for the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The domestic T20 tournament, scheduled to be held from October 16 to November 6, will run parallelly with the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.
Top performers at the recently concluded Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 have been rewarded, with the likes of L. Manvanth Kumar, Abhilash Shetty, Luvnith Sisodia, K.L. Shrijith and L.R. Chethan making the grade. Senior batter R. Samarth has made a comeback, having accumulated 422 runs at a strike-rate of 141.61 in the Maharaja Trophy.
However, opener Mohammed Taha has been overlooked, despite being adjudged the player of the tournament in the Maharaja Trophy, having scored 448 runs -- second highest in the competition -- at a strike-rate of 173.64 to carry Hubli Tigers to the title.
Chairman of the selection committee, J. Abhiram, told The Hindu that the call was made with the future in mind.
“Due credit should be given to Taha, but with a lot of openers around, and a number of younger cricketers emerging, we have to look ahead,” Abhiram said of the 29-year-old Taha. “If we don’t bring in youngsters now, we will not be able to build a team for the future.”
The seasoned trio of Shreyas Gopal, K.V. Siddharth and Karun Nair aren’t part of the roster, for they have reportedly secured No Objection Certificates to ply their trade outside Karnataka. It may be noted that Siddharth and Karun weren’t part of the T20 probables last season too.
There is no place for the 29-year-old T20 specialist tweaker K.C. Cariappa either.
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