The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Novelty at Subbaiah Pillai Trophy

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Saturday, Feb 10, 2007
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Novelty at Subbaiah Pillai Trophy

Principal Correspondent

HYDERABAD: The timing of the South Zone K.S. Subbaiah Pillai Trophy limited-overs cricket tournament may not be beneficial even for those few contenders aiming for slots in the Indian team for the World Cup including the Hyderabad captain V.V.S. Laxman.

But, yet another edition gets underway from Saturday at three different venues with a novelty this time around — coloured clothing, white balls and black screens will welcome the fans who will assemble to watch the cricketers in action.

"I have been told that this is part of the efforts by the BCCI to give the youngsters a feel of how international cricket is played. Just to create a parallel ambience to inspire these youngsters," Laxman pointed out about the new concept.

But getting down to the brass-tacks, the Hyderabad captain says the cricketers are helpless in terms of the timing of the event as it had to be accommodated after the Ranji Trophy final. "Definitely, it would have been better if it was scheduled at a time when the performances would have got some recognition and significance," he remarked.

In the inaugural matches on Saturday, Hyderabad will take on Goa at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium (Uppal), Andhra will meet Tamil Nadu at Gymkhana while defending champions Karnataka will play Kerala at RRC Stadium.

"It is always a special feeling to play for your home State and we are keen to clinch this event to prove a point or two," said Laxman. He also informed that the exciting Ambati Rayudu, who did not figure in the squad announced earlier, has been included after he played his first match in Mumbai in the Inter-banks championship on Thursday. "We are expecting him to join us before the match," the Hyderabad captain said.

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