Focus on fast bowlers as Rest of India take on Mumbai

After the optional practice session had been delayed due to overnight showers,Sreesanth,Munaf Patel and Sudeep Tyagi could be seen...

After the optional practice session had been delayed due to overnight showers,Sreesanth,Munaf Patel and Sudeep Tyagi could be seen sweating it out in the nets on Wednesday afternoon,unmindful of the sweltering heat here. The Irani Cup,which kicks off at the Vidharba Cricket Association (VCA) stadium on Thursday,signals the return of Virender Sehwag,but the fast bowlers will also look to hog the spotlight as Mumbai and Rest of India (ROI) face off for the curtain raiser of the domestic season.

It wasnt long ago that Indian cricket seemed to have an embarrassment of riches in the fast bowling department. The duo of Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma was considered to be one of the most potent new-ball combinations in the world,and backing them up were the likes of Sreesanth,Munaf and RP Singh. But as India make an early exit from the Champions Trophy,the pace cupboard suddenly looks to have lost much of its sheen.

And while Sreesanth back after his stint with Warwickshire in county cricket and Munaf will aim to impress the selectors,the tournament could be the perfect platform for Tyagi to stake his claim for a Team India berth. The Uttar Pradesh fast bowler,who had an impressive outing for Chennai Super Kings in IPL2,troubled most of the ROI batsmen with his pace and bounce in the net he even managed to rap team skipper Sehwag on the gloves with a ball that bounced steeply.

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Meanwhile,Mumbai,who havent won the Cup in the last 10 years,will also be banking on their fast bowling line-up,which includes veteran Ajit Agarkar and an emerging talent,Dhawal Kulkarni. Wasim Jaffer and his boys did little wrong as they waltzed their way to the Ranji title last season. But with veteran Amol Muzumdar leaving for Assam and the absence of Abhishek Nayar,who is on national duty,Mumbai could find themselves in a spot of bother. The skipper though sounded confident about his teams chances and said that the return of Rohit Sharma would bolster the middle-order. Weve a few good players like Onkar Khanvilkar,Prashant Naik and Sushant Marathe in the squad. It is a great opportunity for everyone involved to make an impact here, said Jaffer.

With Nagpur witnessing intermittent rain over the last few days and the pitch at the VCA stadium having a green tinge to it,the stage looks set for the fast-men to shine again.

The Irfan mystery

As skipper Virender Sehwag and the other Rest of India players took to the nets on Wednesday,one notable absentee was Irfan Pathan,whose name was in the original ROI squad announced for the Irani Cup. And even national selector Yashpal Sharma,who is doubling up as ROI manager,seemed clueless about the Baroda all-rounders absence.

Irfan is not here and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (UP medium-pacer) has taken his place in the squad. You should ask the chairman about the reasons for him not being here, said Sharma. To add to the confusion,Sehwag said after the nets: I am not really sure of who all have turned up here.

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The mystery was solved only later when East Zone selector Raja Venkat,who will also be attending the Irani Cup encounter,revealed that Irfan had in fact been ruled out because of a knee injury.

Probable line-ups

Mumbai: Wasim Jaffer,Sahil Kukreja,Ajinkya Rahane,Rohit Sharma,Prashant Naik/Onkar Khanvilkar/ Sushant Marathe,Vinayak Samant,Ramesh Powar,Ajit Agarkar,Rahil Sheikh,Iqbal Abdulla

ROI: Virender Sehwag,Murali Vijay,Abhinav Mukund,S Badrinath,Manoj Tiwary,Ravindra Jadeja,Wriddhiman Saha,Pragyan Ojha,Sreesanth,Munaf Patel,Sudeep Tyagi