‘Outsiders’ Pujara, Dhawan included in Mumbai ‘A’ team

Sagar Gorivale has yet to play first-class cricket, but the 20-year-old may soon get a chance to bowl to the Cooks and Bells!

It’s been just three days since the senior national selection committee, headed by Sandeep Patil, drew flak for not picking a specialist spinner in the India ‘A’ squad. And on Friday, the the Mumbai Cricket Association’s selection panel, chaired by the same man, named leg-spinner Gorivale in the Mumbai ‘A’ side which will take on Alastair Cook & Co in the second warm-up game at the DY Patil Sports Stadium in Navi Mumbai from November 3 to 5.

Gorivale may or may not make the XI, but his inclusion does suggest that Patil has realised his folly. Abhishek Raut, of Rajasthan Royals fame, is the other tweaker (also a leggie) in the 15-member party captained by Suryakumar Yadav. And guess what, two ‘outsiders’ — Saurashtra’s Cheteshwar Pujara, a certainty in the Indian Test team, and Delhi’s Shikhar Dhawan — have also been included.

What’s the logic behind that move, you’d wonder. Truth is that Saurashtra don’t begin their Ranji Trophy campaign until the second round of matches starting on November 9. So Pujara may well prepare for the four-match Test series by taking on James Anderson & Co. Left-handed opener Dhawan, in prime form this season, was originally named in the 14-member India ‘A’ squad.

However, he had pull out of that game on account of his wedding. Dhawan’s honeymoon plans may suffer, but he will surely get a chance to face a quality attack.

The squad also includes Mumbai middle-order batsman Hiken Shah, and medium pacers Kshemal Waingankar and Balwinder Singh Sandhu Jr. The former had, in 2008, demolished Kevin Pietersen’s England with a five-wicket haul in a practice one-dayer at the Brabourne. England went on to lose the ensuing seven-match ODI series 0-5. The last two games were called off due to the 26/11 terror attacks. England had also lost the two-Test series 0-1.
 

MUMBAI ‘A’ SQUAD
Suryakumar Yadav (C), Cheteshwar Pujara, Shikhar Dhawan, Hiken Shah, Bhavin Thakkar, Sufiyan Shaikh (WK), Nikhil Patil Jr, Abhishek Raut, Kshemal Waingankar, Balwinder Singh Sandhu Jr, Sagar Gorivale, Javed Khan, Neelkanth Parab (WK), Bravish Shetty,
Shardul Thakur