Rajasthan Royals pick Shrikant Wagh as net bowler for IPL 2020

The Rajasthan Royals have picked 31-year-old Vidarbha all-rounder Shrikant Wagh in their bowling squad for the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The move for the left-arm pacer comes after the likes of Saurabh Dubey, Aditya Thakare, Yash Thakur and Nachiket Bhute (all from Vidarbha) had already been selected as net bowlers.

Shrikant Wagh is following a quarantine procedure and will soon be heading to Mumbai. He had earlier represented the Pune Warriors in the IPL in 2011. In fact, he even received the Player of the Match award on debut against the Kings XI Punjab, wherein he proved to be a menace for Adam Gilchrist.

"He is going through a series of Covid-19 tests as has been the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) given by the BCCI to franchise. It's a good opportunity for Shrikant Wagh to show his mettle. He is a fine white ball player," a VCA source told TOI.

Shrikant Wagh had trialled for Rajasthan Royals in 2019

Shrikant Wagh was among the bowlers had appeared in the trials that Rajasthan Royals had conducted last year. However. he could not make it to the final squad.

In 2020 though, with teams preferring a large playing contingent, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and the bio-secure bubble that would be created in the UAE, Shrikant Wagh has gotten his chance.

The VCA source believes that bowling to players of the ilk of Jos Buttler, Steve Smith and Ben Stokes would only help Shrikant Wagh get better as a player.

The Vidarbha all-rounder used to be the speerhead of the Vidarbha attack in the early 2010s. But injuries led to inconsistencies in performances, when talking about the Ranji Trophy.

However, he has been a regular for Vidarbha in the shorter formats and has been contributing with both bat and ball. The source believes that this is a golden opportunity for Shrikant Wagh to shine and that his all-round abilities will be of great use to the Rajasthan Royals.

"Shri has been around for 13 years now. He needs to be smart on how he approaches his career now onwards. If he keeps himself fit, he has the ability to perform well in the IPL. Many times, people forget his contributions with the bat. He has been holding the Vidarbha lower order since his younger days," the source said.

The 2020 edition of the IPL will be staged in the UAE and will be played across three venues- Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. The competition is slated to begin on the 19th of September with the final expected to take place on the 10th of November.