KPL News: Bengaluru Blasters' BR Sharath, Belagavi Panthers' Shubhang Hegde called up for India U-23 side 

Dashing wicket-keeper batsman BR Sharath was named in the India Under-23 squad for the five-match One-Day series against Bangladesh Under-23 in September.

The Priyam Garg-led side will play from September 19 onwards in Raipur. Sharath will jostle for the wicket-keeper position with Aryan Juyal.

Shubhang Hegde, who represents Belagavi Panthers in the Redmi Karnataka Premier League, too made it to the 15-man squad on the basis of his performances for the Indian Under-19 side.

“Playing Ranji Trophy will help me tremendously in the upcoming series,” said an elated Sharath. “I was ready for this opportunity because I worked very hard for it. I am very confident of doing well.”

Called up to the senior Karnataka side earlier this year on the back of a century and a half-century in four games in the Under-23 league, Sharath became the first batsman from Karnataka to score a century on debut in nearly two decades.

His overall first-class tally stands at 182 runs from six matches at an average of 18.20. He has also taken 23 catches and inflicted four stumpings.

Son of BCCI umpire BK Ravi, the top-order batsman had improved his chances of making it to the State side on the back of his match-winning 109 against Jharkhand in the Col CK Nayudu U-23 tournament.

Sharath, who was bought by Bengaluru Blasters for Rs 2.4 lakhs during the KPL, came up with his best performance in three games on the day of his call-up to the Indian side. He scored a blistering 42 from 23 balls with six fours and a couple of sixes against Shivamogga Lions to justify the selectors’ pick.

“The KPL has been a great platform for me. I have been able to express myself fully more here than anywhere else. This is a very strong Blasters team and we hope to do well going forward,” he signed off.

Squad: Priyam Garg (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Madhav Kaushik, BR Sharath (wicketkeeper), Samarth Vyas, Aryan Juyal (wicketkeeper), Ritwik Roy Choudhary, Kumar Suraj, Atit Seth, Shubhang Hegde, Hrithik Shokeen, Dhrushant Soni, Arshdeep Singh, Kartik Tyagi, Harpreet Brar