Batting slug-fest in the offing

And fair trial was the need of the hours as 36 hopefuls divided as India, India A and India B try to fill up the vacancies after the casualties of Australian sojourn. For starters, Motera serves the wicket with the usual brown colour code for the India vs India A clash. Not just the pitch curator Dhiraj Parsana and the senior side skipper Rahul Dravid but anyone with even a sub-atomic interest in the gamewould vouch for its batting friendly status.

8220;The curator has promised to lots runs and it will also aid the spinners,8221; Dravid said. While the willow wielders smack the lips in anticipation the pacers can spend time finding ways to minimise the extent of the expected humiliation. On cards is a batting slug fest with the ringside seats reserved for bowlers.

Expecting to be in the thick of this action will be the India A captain Mohd Azharuddin. Top position in the South Zone one-day Ranji Trophy league, impressive showing in the Wills Trophy matches was enough for the former skipper to be in contention. Runs here could see him taking the final step despite off-field hurdles in his ways.

Azhar8217;s boat mate is the India A wicket-keeper Nayan Mongia. The healing of the World Cup injury followed by insult in Australia sums up the Vadodara stumper8217;s life off the spotlight. Motera can expect a one-to-one bout of the glovemen with Sameer Dighe in the opposite corner.

Also in the India A squad are the in-formSouth Zone batsmen S Sharath and J Arun Kumar who would expect to continue their streak. This in-form status of the majority of Azhar8217;s men gives them the edge over out of sorts India batsmen. Dravid, VVS Laxman and Jacob Martin had very little to write home about during their tour of Australia.

But the team with the highest reading on the moralometer8217; is the third squad in contention India B. The five under-19 World Cup winners Mohd Kaif, Yuvraj Singh, Reetinder Singh Sodhi, Ajay Ratra, Anup Dave under the full of bean skipper Ajay Jadeja promises to be more than handful for two senior sides. The sixth member of this world conquering Indian boy band is Niraj Patel, will get first to showcase his talent as he is part of the India A team.

The teams: India Seniors: Rahul Dravid C, SS Das, Venkata Sai Laxman, Jacob Martin, Robin Singh, Anil Kumble, Nikhil Chopra, Sunil Joshi, Sameer Dighe WK, Harvinder Singh Sodhi, Venkatesh Prasad and Vinod Kambli.

India A: Mohd Azharuddin C, NayanMongia WK, Ashu Dani, J Arun Kumar, Sridharan Sharath, Virender Sehwag, Murali Karthik, Amit Bhandari, Sanjay Bangar, Thiru Kumaran, Aashish Kapoor amp; Niraj Patel.

India B: Ajay Jadeja C, Nikhil Haldipur, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Jai Prakash Yadav, Devendra Bundela, Reetinder Singh Sodhi, Rashmi Ranjan Parida, Ajay Ratra wicket-keeper, Debashis Mohanty, Dodda Ganesh and Anup Dave.

Coaches: Kapil Dev amp; Roger Binny.
The schedule: Feb 10: India vs India A; Feb 11: India vs India B; Feb 12: India A vs India B; Feb 13: Final.Match starts at 3:30 p.m.

GCA chief hits out at BCCI
AHMEDABAD: It was the rains last time round that jinxed the Challenger Trophy here, and it is the absence of Sachin Tendulkar this time. With ticket sales failing to pick up even on the eve of the first match, president of the Gujarat Cricket Association Narhari Amin lashed out at the Board of Control for Cricket in India for 8220;violating its contract with sponsors HeroHonda8221;.

He said the BCCI had a contract amounting to Rs 1.5 crores with Hero Honda to sponsor the Challenger for three years. 8220;The sponsors had demanded that all top players of the country should play in it, so clearly the BCCI has violated the agreement.8221;

Asked whether ticket sales have been affected by the three players deciding not to play, Amin said, 8220;Yes, 100 per cent they have been affected.8221;