Karnataka will start their preparations for the forthcoming domestic season with a 12-day camp beginning in Mysore on Saturday in what will be the first full-time assignment for new coach Vijay Bharadwaj.

“Our focus will be to develop cricket skills in this camp. We also want to stay together before the start of the season so that the team members can gel together. We have divided the camp into two segments of six days each, and the second part will see some new drills, but the stress will certainly be on cricket,” Bharadwaj said.

Veteran leg-spinner Anil Kumble is part of the 35 probables, and Bharadwaj said the presence of the senior pros would be a huge advantage for the youngsters in the squad.

“We have a lot of youngsters, and all of them are eager to get into the State side and do well. The presence of an experienced player like Anil will benefit them as they can seek guidance from him,” he said. Kumble will be available for the season opener against Mumbai on November 3.

Looking ahead to the season, Bharadwaj said, “It will be a challenging season, both from the team’s and a personal point of view. But we are geared up for the challenge ahead.”

Probables: N C Aiyappa, B Akhil, Amit Verma, Anil Kumble, K P Appanna, Arjun Shetty, Barrington Rowland, Bharath Chipli, V Cheluvaraj, Deepak Chougule, Devraj Patil, S Dhananjaya, Ganesh Satish, Gaurav Dhiman, C M Gautam, C B Karthik, Manish Pandey, Nelson Pinto, Nikhil Khashyap, K B Pawan, C Raghavendra, C Raghu, Rahul Dravid, Raju Bhatkal, Robin Uthappa, Ryan Ninan, Sudhindra Shinde, Sunil Joshi, Sunil Raju, V S Thilak Naidu, Udit Patel, Umesh Karvi, R Vinay Kumar, N Vinoo Prasad, K Yere Goud, Coach: Vijay R Bharadwaj; Physio: V Muthu Kumar.

Karnataka’s Ranji schedule: Nov 3-6: Vs Mumbai; Nov 15-18: Vs Himachal Pradesh; Nov 23-26: Vs Tamil Nadu; Dec 1-4: Vs Rajasthan; Dec 9-12: Vs Saurashtra; Dec 17-20: Vs Delhi; Dec 25-28: Vs Maharashtra.