After Irani success, Yuvraj Singh has another chance to make a point

After leading Rest of India (RoI) to a commanding victory over Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai earlier this week, Yuvraj Singh will now be in charge of India Blue against Dinesh Karthik’s India Red in the opening match of the NKP Salve Challenger Trophy at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on Friday. India Green, captained by Subramaniam Badrinath, is the third team in the competition.

The stylish left-hander, who was dropped recently from the Indian side, finally found form during the season opener in Jaipur. The 29-year-old smacked a delightful 204 not out — albeit in the second innings — as RoI won by 361 runs.

A good show will do a world of good to Yuvraj’s confidence. And given that the series against New Zealand is round the corner, Yuvi will want to serve a reminder.

The four-match series, which has produced stars like S Sreesanth, Piyush Chawla and even MS Dhoni, could be crucial for RP Singh and Irfan Pathan. Karthik has a bunch of talented batsmen like Virat Kohli and Manish Pandey, for company.

Teams (From)
India Blue: Y Singh (C), S Dhawan, S Goswami,
A Rahane, M Tiwary, I Pathan, R Jadeja, W Saha (WK), P Chawla, U Yadav, RP Singh, Yo Mahesh, G Satish, T Srivastava

India Red: D Kartik (C), A Mukund, P Patel (WK),
M Pandey, V Kohli, S Tiwary, Y Pathan, I Abdulla, V Kumar, A Dinda, S Tyagi, M Mishra, A Ahmed, R Sharma