The Ranji Trophy is over. It’s time to switch from the traditional whites into trendier and colourful clothing as the West Zone Twenty20 League gets underway in the Kathiawari heartland. As the promising youngsters and seasoned pros alike look to ‘express themselves’ in the shortest format, players from all the five teams will hope to do it responsibly enough to attract the attention from the Indian Premier League franchises ahead of the big auction scheduled later this month.
With the Board of Control for Cricket in India having inexplicably converted the national knock-outs for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy into an inter-zone tournament, the zonal leagues have been converted into a kind of selection trials for the IPL. And the BCCI in a way admitted as much by re-jigging the domestic schedule to allow the IPL franchises have a good look at the domestic crop in the T20s.
Still, all five teams have a lot to earn even as a group over the next week. A youthful Mumbai squad may be missing Shreyas Iyer’s services since he is recovering from a right hamstring injury. Still, Aditya Tare's boys will be hoping to give themselves to cheer following a disappointing end to its Ranji Trophy campaign with a humiliating loss to Karnataka in the round of eight. Besides, Mumbai will be eager to defend the zonal title after remaining unbeaten in the last year's league.
Gujarat's Ranji title defence may have halted in the quarter-final abruptly and the team may have lost veteran skipper Parthiv Patel, who is in South Africa on India duty, but the all-rounder duo of Axar Patel and Piyush Chawla will be keen to inspire his team-mates into taking at least one trophy home this time around.
Host Saurashtra has fielded the biggest squad, including 18 members. If the seasoned players like import Robin Uthappan, Sheldon Jackson and Jaydev Unadkat come into their elements, a majority of the young reserves will only have to serve drinks over the coming week.
From being led by one of the two Pathan brothers to omitting both of them from the squad, Baroda has come a long way in the Ranji Trophy season. Pathan brothers continue to be sidelined but Deepak Hooda's young bunch continues to have a strong family bonding. Krunal Pandya, India all-rounder Hardik's elder brother, remains an intergral part. Besides, sons of India women's coach Tushar Arothe and former India wicket-keeper Nayan Mongia – Rishi and Mohit – also find place in the squad.
Maharashtra, meanwhile, will hope to be inspired by the presence of its lone international star Kedar Jadhav's presence. Due to a combination of India duties and injuries, Jadhav couldnt feature in any of Maharashtra's Ranji campaign. He will be eager to prove his fitness and get the best out of a talented unit.
Sunday’s matches
Mumbai vs Baroda (9.30am)
Gujarat vs Maharashtra (1.30pm)
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