The Hindu : Sport : Munaf's presence will boost West

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Mar 03, 2006

Sport

Sport

Munaf's presence will boost West

Vijay Lokapally

UDAIPUR: Sipping tea, waiting for a connecting train at the Kota platform at one in the morning, North Zone skipper Dinesh Mongia reflected on the significance of domestic cricket and its overall impact on a young mind.

"This is the reality," he smiled, pointing to his junior mates, head resting on the next man's shoulder, stirring out of slumber at the sound of a train approaching in the distance.

Three of the team members enjoyed the privilege of flying to the next venue but Mongia opted to travel with the rest because no such faciity was extended to some of them by their respective associations.

Elsewhere, West Zone used all available options — road, rail and air — to travel from Gwalior to Udaipur.

The players looked worn out and obviously not keen on testing their endurance before the crucial Deodhar Trophy match at the M.B. College ground here on Friday.

Having won both their encounters, West finds itself in a favourable position, especially with the presence of Munaf Patel, the immensely promising fast bowler from Maharashtra.

Appalling conditions

The teams, however, may appear appalled at the state of the ground.

Brown patches dominate the field but the pitch, one learnt, was expected to play true, a pleasant departure from the surfaces at Indore and Gwalior, venues for the first four matches of the league.

"We are a small cricket centre and have tried our best to provide above average facilities. We are expecting an crowd of over 3000 and hope to see some quality cricket," said the Udaipur Cricket Association secretary Mahender Sharma.

The players understand the importance of taking domestic cricket to such centres but they also stress the necessity of proper infrastructure. "The difference between international and domestic cricket is huge," admitted West skipper Parthiv Patel.

The playing conditions matter a lot, and also the timing of the competition. The tournament clashes with the India-England Test series and the lack of motivation is glaringly evident in the lacklustre `nets' sessions, without exception.

No takers for domestic cricket is a much-whipped refrain but things have not improved for a long time now, leading the players to believe that it is mere formality they have to endure in their quest to make it big.

"I still believe such tournaments are important for those youngsters who are on the fringe. In the last two matches, we have seen some good show by Yusuf (Pathan) and Rohit (Sharma). It is the right stage for a youngster to excel,'' said West coach Balwinder Sandhu.

In Sandhu's opinion, Pathan has the potential to develop into an explosive all-rounder while Rohit has the maturity to improve his overall cricket.

North has talent

The North camp too has lot of talent to offer. Opener Shikhar Dhawan and seamer Abid Nabi would like to make the most of the opportunity. A victory here should place North in a strong position. West too backs itself to maintain its winning spree at a ground that has been spruced up in less than a month's time. A close contest should be a fitting reward to the hard work put in by the organisers.

The teams:

North: Dinesh Mongia (Capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Gautam Gambhir, Mithun Manhas, R.S. Sodhi, Pankaj Dharmani, Joginder Sharma, Amit Mishra, Gagandeep Singh, Gaurav Vashisht, Abid Nabi, Yashpal Singh, Ishant Sharma, Sumit Sharma and Mahesh Rawat.

West: Parthiv Patel (Capt), Dheeraj Jadhav, Jacob Martin, Kiran Powar, Yusuf Pathan, Ramesh Powar, Ashok Makda, Munaf Patel, Avishkar Salvi, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Siddharth Trivedi, Hrishikesh Parab, Cheteshwar Pujara and Bhawik Thakkar.

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