Rest assured, the stakes are high

He stood there shyly, wearing his trademark smile and unfazed by the volley of questions hurled at him by the media. Being a skipper can be ...

He stood there shyly, wearing his trademark smile and unfazed by the volley of questions hurled at him by the media. Being a skipper can be tough, particularly when he has to handle a bunch of thoroughbreads he had been playing along season after season. But Gautam Gambhir, who will be leading the Rest of India team, was a bundle of energy and did not fumble for words even once while answering all queries.

Captaincy is a responsibility and not a pressure valve on his head, he said. ‘‘We are a young side, half of our side has played for India before. I think it would be an interesting contest and (this match) would provide a lot of opportunities to prove our worth,” said Gambhir talking on the chances of his team against the Railways.

The skipper insisted that winning was a priority, but ‘‘if we perform to our potential, we will get noticed. It is a prestigious match and we will definitely try and win it.’’

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Rival skipper Sanjay Bangar, however, insisted that his side too had a stake in the match. ‘‘The selectors will have a firsthand insight into the talent that the Railways team has and, hopefully, a few of the boys will come into reckoning.’’

The attention would undoubtedly be on the Rest of India boys and the selectors have resisted the temptation of naming big players for the tie. According to the selection panel member, they named a set of players who have a chance to represent the country in the future. Suresh Raina is one among them.

‘‘It’s the start of the season, so its nice to get a knock and good score under your belt. Railways are a good side and it would be good to score against an opponent like them,’’ said the left-hander. Parthiv Patel too admitted that performances would be noticed and he was all set to prove a point with his keeping and getting a good hit in the middle.

If captaincy was not a burden for Gambhir, it seemed to be case with even North Zone selector Yashpal Sharma. Thanks to BCCI, he had an additional job to carry out, being manager of the Rest team. But Yashpal slipped into the job with ease and arranged for breakfast and other things immediately.

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The selector-manager declared that the Rest of India side has left out three players — VRV Singh, Shikhar Dhawan and Robin Uthappa — from the 15-member squad. The playing eleven, would be finalised in the morning.

The absence of ‘big stars’ and lack of televised attention notwithstanding, the Irani Cup will open the curtain for the 2005-06 domestic season. Both Railways and Rest agreed it would be level playing field for both sides and ample scope for five days of entertaining cricket.

The teams

Railways

: Sanjay Bangar (capt.), Murali Kartik (vice-capt.), Amit Pagnis, T.P. Singh, J.P. Yadav, Raja Ali, Yere Goud, Sudhir Wankhede, Harvinder Singh, K. Parida, Vineet Saxena; Coach: Vinod Sharma.

ROI: Gautam Gambhir (captain), Dheeraj Jadhav, Y Venugopal Rao (vice-captain), Suresh Raina, Niraj Patel, Parthiv Patel (wk), Ramesh Powar, Ramakrishnan Ramkumar, Amit Bhandari, Sreesanth, RP Singh, Ranadeb Bose. Manager :Yashpal Sharma.

Young Guns Ready to boom

		The Irani Cup 2005 is a match where the competition will be between players trying to stage a comeback and those who would try to create a first impression. Indian Express takes a look at some of the players who would hog the limelight: Venogopal Rao: The middle-order bat will be keen to re-establish himself with a big knock after two continuous flops in the tri-series in Zimbabawe marred his impressive ODI debut in Sri Lanka. Suresh Raina: The left-hand top order bat has been a part of the Indian ODI team after impressive performance last season. He would be looking to continue his goodwork, in wake of a busy international calendar. Dhiraj Yadav: He’s been with the Indian Test team on three series without making his debut. A good knock will keep him in the reckoning as the third opener. Gautam Gambhir: Leading the side will be as important as getting a big score. With his place in the Test side ‘established’, he will be looking to sneak into the one-day side. Ranadeb Bose: The tall lanky paceman from Bengal has caught the eye with his speed and movement off the wickets. It will be a test for him on the flat Karnail Singh wicket. RP Singh: He impressed on his ODI debut in Zimbabwe but didn’t get a chance thereafter. The left-arm paceman will have another stint to remind the selectors of his swinging poweress. Story continues below this ad COMEBACK MEN Murali Kartik: Ironically, the left-arm spinner still has a few points to prove to the selectors. Being a regular in the ODI squad, he will need a good bag of wickets to remind he’s a utility player in the longer version as well. Amit Bhandari: Been there, done that and dropped. The Delhi paceman has delivered what’s been demanded yet is struggling to cement a permanent place. With five selectors watching, he would love to talk with the ball. Romesh Pawar: The offie was always deemed a substitute to Harbhajan Singh. And the success of Harbhajan in recent times has affected adversely on his prospects. It’s time to set the record straight. Harvinder Singh: It’s boom time for the pace industry. The Railway paceman has been the highest wicket taker, bowling tirelessly on placid wickets. His age was deemed a factor against him but at 28, criteria should be solely performance.