Zol to play for RCB in IPL V

Having set the junior cricket circuit on fire this season,Maharashtra under-19 opener Vijay Zol is now set to represent the Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL V. The 17-year-old from Jalna,who smashed 1607 runs during the Cooch Behar Trophy,was signed up by the Bangalore franchise on Wednesday,turning an already successful season into a phenomenal one for the youngster. Zol initially came into the limelight after smashing an unbeaten 451 two months earlier,and it did seem inevitable that he would attract attention from the IPL franchises.

“We have signed Zol after looking at his performances for Maharashtra (U-19). He looks to be an ideal man for T20 cricket. What is good about him,apart from the ability to play big strokes,is his hunger for runs,” an RCB official said.

Big scores indeed,looking at some of Zol’s performances this season. The left-hander averaged 164 overall,and churned up 121 and 225 in the semifinal of the Cooch Behar in addition to scores of 90,292,176 and 82 earlier in the tournament. Zol,who idolises Virender Sehwag,has a penchant for dominating bowlers. And he set the Wankhede Stadium alight during the Cooch Behar final,though it wasn’t good enough to help Maharashtra clinch the trophy.

Meanwhile,UP opener Tanmay Srivastava,who represented Kochi last season,has shifted base to the Deccan Chargers.