Punjab colts up for Ranji challenge

Deepankar Sharda

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 5

Punjab skipper Mandeep Singh is keen to repeat what his seniors did way back in 1992-93 — winning the Ranji Trophy.

For the past several years Punjab, twice runners-up and once winner of the prestigious Ranji Trophy, have been working hard and entering the tournament with the idea of winning the title.

However, despite having a bunch of excellent emerging talent, they have failed to win the tournament.After the new Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) management stepped in to take charge in October, players have been making renewed efforts to win the highest honour in the tournament.

“I think the credit should be given to the coach (Munish Bali). We are much organised and disciplined and to add on Munish's vision is great,” said Mandeep during an informal media interaction today.

“The basic plan is to groom the youngsters as well as to win the championship. This year, we are more organised as a team. There is a good blend of youngsters and experienced players. All of us have played under him (Bali) during our junior days. So he knows our game inside out,” added Mandeep.

While taking about balance of the team, he stressed that the team has some good options in the middle-order, and without any hesitation named Shubman Gill as the best in the team.

“Myself, Gurkeerat and Siddarth Kaul — we all have big responsibility this time. Shubman has played just two seasons but he is very much experienced in tackling the pressure. We have to be flexible in choosing the team as per requirement. For example, we may play with a extra seamer in Jaipur, but in Patiala we will defiantly like to play with three spinners because it is a spin-friendly wicket,” said Mandeep.

“Shubman's availability is one of the major advantages for the team. Second opener Sanvir Singh, Rohan Marwaha and Abhijeet Garg are also in good form,” he added. "We want to give Sharad Lumba a run in the middle order."

On missing the services of the likes of Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh, he said that the team will definitely miss their experience, but added that they are keeping involved with the team's preparations.

“We are losing very close matches. But right now, we are ready to fight at any situation, be it a chase or defence," said Mandeep.

Workload management

PCA secretary Puneet Bali said the team has had successful outings in limited-overs cricket. “I am very hopeful about the Ranji Trophy,” said Bali.

“We have to keep the player fresh, especially the fast bowlers. They are bowling 60-70 overs in two games and there are chances of breakdown," he said. "We don't want this to happen. We have to think about the future also. There are boys in Punjab who have done immensely well in district cricket.”

“I feel that despite performing well, the boys in the past did not get a chance to play. I have requested coaches and management to broaden their horizon and have a rotation and resting policy," said Bali. “This is the reason we have selected this team for only two matches. All the reserve players will be training here. There will be a Punjab (A) side simultaneously.”

Schedule for Ranji Trophy

The forthcoming Ranji Trophy season starts on December 9. Punjab are placed in Elite Group A with Rajasthan, Hyderabad, Vidarbha, Delhi, Kerala, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal. Punjab will open their campaign against Rajasthan on December 9 in Jaipur. In their second match, Punjab will face Hyderabad from December 17 to 20 at in Patiala.

The 16 member squad will leave for Jaipur tomorrow.

Squad: Mandeep Singh (captain), Shubman Gill, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Siddarth Kaul, Maninder Singh, Rohan Marwaha, Sharad Lumba, Ashwani Kumar, Vinay Choudhary, Sanvir Singh, Anmolpreet Singh, Anmol Malhotra (wicketkeeper), Akul Pratap Pandove, Mayank Markande, Baltej Singh Dhanda and Abhishek Gupta. Manager: Munish Bali.

Felicitation ceremony

Bali felicitated Ajay Mehra, son of late Vijay Mehra who represented Punjab from 1989 to 1999 in 46 First-Class matches. Vijay Mehra made five centuries with a highest score of an unbeaten 200.

Vijay Mehra was a member of the Punjab squad that won the Ranji Trophy in 1993. A certificate of appreciation was presented for him doing duties as a commentator in 150 international matches.

The late Rakesh Sanghi, who officiated as a statistician in more than 200 international matches and 1000 domestic matches, was also honoured posthumously. A certificate of appreciation for his commitment and services was presented to his wife Madhu Sanghi.

Photographs of Ajay Mehra and Rakesh Sanghi were also unveiled at PCA's main lobby. The felicitation function was attended by PCA CEO Deepak Sharma and members of the Punjab Ranji Trophy team.