Stars, Schedule and Showdowns

Key matches
• Uttar Pradesh vs Railways (11th Jan)
• Madhya Pradesh vs Railways (14th Jan)

The Stars
Mohammad Kaif (UP): Captains the side, after a long stint on the bench during Tests. Has been India’s best bet in the one-dayers recently and can play a key role in UP’s fortune.
Murali Kartik (Railways): After missing Railways’ brilliant recovery that saw them reach the semis in the four-day version, Kartik will be playing his first domestic game.

NORTH ZONE

Venues: HP
Dates: Jan 9 to 17

Key match
• Punjab vs Delhi (Jan 11)

The Stars
Harbhajan Singh (Punjab): Good to see India’s top spinners finally getting a chance to turn up for his state. Bhajji’s inclusion makes Punjab the hot favourite to top dominate North Zone.
Yuvraj Singh (Punjab): The batsman every bowler in the North Zone will fear. With very little pressure on him and a few Plate division teams in fray expect a real Yuvi-special one of these days.
Dinesh Mongia (Punjab): Quite an important tournament for the Punjab skipper. Having just made a comeback to the national side he has to be among runs to cement his place among the Men in Blue.
Ashish Nehra (Delhi): It has been all downhill after his brilliant World Cup in 2003. With injury as his middle name, Nehra will have a two-point agenda during this tournament: Take wickets and, more importantly, play an injury-free tournament.
Joginder Sharma (Haryana): His international debut showed he has it in him be the all-rounder which India desperately needs. Suddenly the unknown 21-year-old from Haryana will be in the spotlight.

EAST ZONE

Venue: Kolkata
Dates: Jan 11 to 18

Key matches
• Bengal vs Jharkhand (11th Jan)
• Bengal vs Orissa (18th Jan)

The Star
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Jha): In Bangladesh he did show the spark but didn’t exactly fire. Just to reconfirm things the dashing wicket-keeper batsman needs a few more dashing innings.

SOUTH ZONE

Venue: Panji
Dates: Jan 9 to 15

Key matches
• Tamil Nadu vs Karnataka (10th Jan)
• Hyderabad vs Tamil Nadu (12th Jan)

The Stars
VVS Laxman (Hyderabad): His ODI omission hurt him a lot. Bowlers beware things get pretty ugly for rivals when Laxman has to prove a point.
Y Venugopala Rao (Andhra): He has scored runs and also taken wickets. Test team has ‘no vacancy’ message for middle-order batsman. But Venugopala with his all-rounder credentials can manage a place in the ODI side.

WEST ZONE

Venue: Ahmedabad
Dates: Jan 10 to 17

Key matches
• Mumbai vs Baroda (10th Jan)
• Mumbai vs Gujarat (11th Jan)

The Stars
Niraj Patel (Gujarat): It remains to be seen if the top run-getter in the four-day version has it in him to shine in one-dayers.
Ajit Agarkar (Mumbai): India’s new ball bowler never disappoints when turning up for Mumbai. Will have a chance to show his batting skills and finally be called a certified all-rounder.