Deodhar Trophy: Did the squads do justice to bowling talent?

The advantage that a large number of cricket tournaments in India brings to fringe players is the opportunity to rub shoulders with the national players and to display their talent and impress the national team selectors.

In that regard, the Deodhar Trophy squads announced recently were a mixed bag, with some exciting names and some not so convincing ones.

Who are the participants?

Traditionally, the contenders include two sides - India Blue and India Red, with the winner of the Vijay Hazare Trophy joining them. This year, we have Tamil Nadu as the third team, after they defeated Bengal in a low-scoring match by 37 runs on March 20^th in the Vijay Hazare Trophy final, thanks to a ton from Dinesh Karthik.

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There are some interesting names in the squads of India Blue and India Red. Younger players like Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Panth, Mandeep Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Siddharth Kaul and Shardul Thakur feature in India Blue while India Red has a few names familiar to IPL fans like Gurkeerat Mann.

One name in the India Blue team which may surprise many is the inclusion of veteran off-spinner, Harbhajan Singh. His fans might feel offended, but the 36-year old, a legend in his own right, has done absolutely nothing to win his place in the team.

Why Harbhajan shouldn’t be in the squad

There are many factors which go against Harbhajan. To start with, he isn’t amongst the top 25 wicket-takers at the recently concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy. His team, Punjab didn’t make it even to the quarter-finals of the tournament.

Once again, Harbhajan wasn’t there in the top 25 wicket-takers. In fact, far from it. At 36, Harbhajan isn’t getting any younger and his match fitness is questionable considering the amount of cricket he has been involved in. In the five Vijay Hazare matches, Punjab featured in, Harbhajan picked up 1, 0, 2, 1 and 4 wickets respectively.

In such a scenario wasting a valuable spot that could have been a rich learning experience for someone younger is not exactly filled with foresight. Harbhajan last played an ODI for India in October 2015 and a T20I in March 2016.

Better performers who couldn’t make the cut

While the squad has several youngsters like Mumbai’s Shardul Thakur (16 wickets in 6 games at the Vijay Hazare Trophy), Karnataka’s Prasidh Krishna (13 wickets in 7 matches) and Chattisgarh’s Pankaj Rao (15 wickets in 6 matches), some good bowlers were left out.

Pragyan Ojha, for example, with 15 wickets in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, is someone who would consider himself unlucky. He picked up a five-wicket haul in Bengal’s win in the semi-final against Jharkhand.

It would have also been a wise decision to take a second look at Varun Aaron, one of India’s fastest bowlers. Aaron picked up 14 wickets for Jharkhand in 7 matches, lending a hand in his team’s ascent to the semi-final stage.

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23-year old medium-fast bowler, Mohammad Siraj, who was the third highest wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy with 41 wickets in 9 games, was another excellent option available.

Interestingly, even Parvez Rasool, who made it to the Indian squad, didn’t find a spot in the Deodhar Trophy squads although it must be said that his team didn’t fare too well.

Looking to the future

With the IPL between the Deodhar Trophy and the Champions Trophy in June, one can safely say the Deodhar Trophy only gives players an opportunity to play with the big-time players, without giving them any short-cuts to the national squad.

It is more a ‘look-in’. Harbhajan’s inclusion could be in the capacity of a mentor, a senior player who could share some knowledge and experience with young spinners in either squad.

If the selectors really took the Deodhar Trophy seriously, as a stepping stone for an India A opportunity or a national call-up, there are many players who deserved a chance ahead of Harbhajan, who has neither age nor numbers on his side.

Whom to watch out for?

A maximum of three matches and minimum of two matches that each team will play could be a make or break situation for some bowlers. Shahbaz Nadeem, who has been knocking at the doors of the national team will once again want to prove his mettle after being the leading wicket-taker at the Ranji, by a large margin (56 wickets in 10 matches with 43 being the second highest).

Deepak Hooda would also like to impress the selectors with his flamboyant batting and useful off-spin, and Krunal Pandya, a spin-bowling all-rounder, could follow in his brother’s footsteps from IPL to the national team.

Punjab’s Siddharth Kaul, who did well in the Ranji as well as in the Vijay Hazare tournament, is another new face to watch out for. Aswin Crist, who helped Tamil Nadu win the Vijay Hazare Trophy, as the leading wicket-taker is another exciting talent to watch out for!