Questionable choices for DDCA Ranji trials

Inclusion of former Himachal Pradesh batsman Abhinav Bali (last played in 2013), wicket-keeper batsman Arjun Gupta, Qurban Ali, Sadaat Salim, Sohail Sharma (who played four List A matches in February, 2006) raises serious questions over the fairness in selection.

Published : Sep 14, 2016 19:31 IST , New Delhi

The selectors have included Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan, along with Ishant Sharma, who are likely to be on national duty throughout the season.

The selectors have included Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan, along with Ishant Sharma, who are likely to be on national duty throughout the season.

It seems the more things change in the Delhi and District Cricket Association, the more they remain the same. The new set of selectors – Nikhil Chopra, Atul Wassan and Robin Singh Jr. – along with the newly-appointed coach K. P. Bhaskar and convenor Chetan Chauhan announced a list of 46 probables, led by Virat Kohli, for the selection trials beginning on September 16 for the upcoming Ranji Trophy season on Wednesday.

However, the inclusion of former Himachal Pradesh batsman Abhinav Bali (last played in 2013), wicket-keeper batsman Arjun Gupta, Qurban Ali, Sadaat Salim, Sohail Sharma (who played four List A matches in February, 2006), besides medium pacers Vishwas Malik and Rishit Saini (who played his only first class match in 2011) raises serious questions over the fairness in selection.

Moreover, Mohit Ahwalat and Rahul Yadav are among the notable omissions. The selectors have included Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan and Ishant Sharma who are all likely to be on national duty throughout the season. In any case, these established names, including Gautam Gambhir, are not expected to be part of the selection trials.

The probables: Virat Kohli, Gautam Gambhir, Shikhar Dhawan, Ishant Sharma, Unmukt Chand, Vaibhav Rawal, Milind Kumar, Nitish Rana, Manan Sharma, Pulkit Narang, Sumit Narwal, Pawan Suyal, Sarang Rawat, Pradeep Sangwan, Parvinder Awana, Dhruv Shorey, Rishabh Pant, Navdeep Saini, Mohit Sharma, Pawan Negi, Yogesh Sharma, Sarthik Ranjan, Varun Sood, Vikas Mishra, Himmat Singh, Arjun Gupta, Qurban Ali, Javed Khan, Shivam Sharma, Kuwar Bidhuri, Akash Sudan, Manoj Chauhan, Kshitiz Sharma, Sadaat Salim, Aditya Kaushik, Vishwash Malik, Rishit Saini, Prashant Bhandari, Hiten Dalal, Rajesh Sharma, Sidhant Sharma, Sohail Sharma and Vineet Kumar.