Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: New-look Karnataka face Saurashtra challenge in pre-quarters

By Express News Service

BENGALURU: Karnataka will resemble a different look against Saurashtra in their Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy pre-quarterfinal in Delhi on Tuesday. Four big names from the state have been included in the India Test squad (Mayank Agarwal, Prasidh Krishna) and India A (Devdutt Padikkal, Krishnappa Gowtham), making the quartet unavailable.

This is not something new for the state team, which has been a regular supply line to the Indian team in the past. With the likes of R Samarth, V Koushik included in the squad for the knockout stages, it just reflects the depth in Karnataka cricket. And state bowling coach Sreenath Aravind is confident of a good show.
“Obviously we will miss the four players. That said, we have good bench strength and the absence of the four players gives players on the bench an opportunity to showcase their skills. We are confident they will deliver. Our bench also consists of experienced players. Samarth, Ritesh Bhatkal, V Koushik and Aditya Somanna have come in and they are all proven players. Among the spinners we have Shreyas Gopal and Pravin Dubey, who are both quality bowlers,” said Aravind.

One of the biggest changes for Karnataka will be right at the top. Padikkal and Mayank have opened in all their group games, but the team management needs to find a new opening pair against Saurashtra. They have various options, including Ravikumar Samarth, BR Sharath and Rohan Kadam, who have all opened in the past as well.

“Yes, Mayank and Devdutt opened the innings in all the league matches. In their absence, we have enough players who can stand up for the count. The beauty of our batters is that they fit into any position. Among our resources, we have Samarth, KV Siddharth and Rohan Kadam who can open. Also, Manish Pandey, Karun Nair and even BR Sharath have opened the innings in the past, so we do have enough opening options,” Aravind said.

Karnataka batters have to be on top of their game against Saurashtra, who have some top bowlers in their ranks. Their pace attack comprising Jaydev Unadkat and Chetan Sakariya has it in them to trouble any team in the competition. One can expect a good battle between the Karnataka batters and Saurashtra bowlers.

“They are a very tough side with quality bowlers. They also have batters like Sheldon Jackson, who has been doing well. We are not worried about the opposition too much, instead, we are focussed on our strength and the process we have been following,” said Aravind.