Ranji Trophy champion Saurashtra to start white-ball camp on Friday

Sitanshu Kotak, who is no longer with India A, will oversee the 10-day camp along with Niraj Odedra.

Saurashtra secured its maiden Ranji Trophy title this year.

Ranji Trophy 2019-20 champion Saurashtra will start preparations for the next domestic season, likely to start in January 2021, with a 10-day white-ball camp in Rajkot.

The camp, starting Friday, will be overseen by Sitanshu Kotak and Niraj Odedra. Kotak was Saurashtra’s coach before moving to India A for a brief stint, while Odedra, along with veteran Karsan Ghavri, guided the team to its maiden Ranji title last season.

READ: State associations divided over domestic cricket season fate

“The preparatory camp will start from Friday for BCCI limited-overs tournaments. All participating players are submitting their RT-PCR reports. It will mostly be a 10-day camp,” Himanshu Shah, Honorary Secretary, Saurashtra Cricket Association, told Sportstar .

“The camp will be overseen by Sitanshu, Niraj and physio Abhishek Thakkar,” he added.

The Standard Operating Procedure for the players includes no outside food as per protocol at the hotel, submission of RT-PCR test report to check on COVID-19 and no group gatherings in rooms.

At the training, spitting and clearing of nasal/respiratory secretions on the ground, huddles, high-fives are prohibited. The players also had to submit a consent form from their parents before enrolling for the camp.

The Ranji Trophy 2019-20 final between Saurashtra and Bengal in Rajkot was the last cricket match in India before the COVID-induced shutdown.