FORM is a great thing in any sport. That it is acknowledged is a more important aspect. Vidarbha Cricket Association’s Senior Selection Committee had just done that. With their top left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey on India ‘A’ duty, Vidarbha bowling attack looked not that effective on fourth day track against Tamil Nadu in Coimbatore in their last Ranji Trophy match that ended in a draw. Needing all ten wickets in the entire day, the reigning champions could dismiss only six batters.

 

To bolster the spin attack, VCA selectors have included U-23 player Gaurav Farde, who took eight wickets (four in each innings) as Vidarbha thumped Odisha on Wednesday, in the Ranji Trophy team, incidentally, against Odisha to be played from Saturday. Ambidextrous Akshay Karnewar made way for Farde in Vidarbha’s 17-member squad to be played at the Jamtha Stadium. The selection committee has replaced Farde with Kaustubh Salve in the U-23 men’s squad for the State ‘A’ (One-Day) Trophy Elite Group D league matches to be played in Jaipur from November 9-21. Ranji Trophy Squad Akshay Wadkar (Captain & WK), Atharva Taide, Yash Rathod (Vice-Captain), Aman Mokhade, Parth Rekhade, Nachiket Bhute, Darshan Nalkande, Praful Hinge, Yash Kadam, Shubham Kapse, Shivam Deshmukh (WK), Ganesh Bhosle, Satyam Bhoyar, Lalit Yadav, Gaurav Farde, Dhruv Shorey, R Samarth. SUPPORT STAFF: Coach: Usman Ghani. Asst Coach: Dharmender Ahlawat. S&C Coach: Yuvraj Singh Dasondhi. Physio: Dr Nitin Khurana. Video Analyst: Ajeenkya Sawale. Masseur: Bhushan Zhade. Sidearm ball thrower: Yash Thorat. Manager: Jitendra Darbhe.