Devdutt Padikkal
Credit: DH file photo
Bengaluru: The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) has announced a 16-member squad for the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, with a few familiar as well as fresh faces, to be played in Ahmedabad from November 26 to December 8.
Shikhar Shetty, who has emerged as a promising prospect in the Ranji Trophy this season, is one among the new faces. The left-arm spinner also put up a coming-of-age performance with a five-wicket haul against Chandigarh in Hubballi.
Right-arm medium pacer Shreevathsa R Acharya, who played for the Mangaluru Dragons in the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20, also finds a place in the squad.
Spinners Shreyas Gopal, Pravin Dubey and Shubhang Hegde have also made the list, adding to a spin-heavy arsenal.
Karun Nair, who has been scoring runs for fun in red-ball cricket, having made 602 runs at an average of 100.33 with two hundreds and two fifties, returns to the State’s white-ball team.
India international Devdutt Padikkal, who is currently with the Indian squad for the South Africa Test series, has been picked but is expected to miss a few games unless the team management decides to release him for the T20 competition depending on his selection.
The wicket-keeping responsibilities are set to be shared by Shrijith KL and Sharath BR.
Experienced quicks Vyshak Vijayakumar and Vidwath Kaverappa, the hard-hitting batter Abhinav Manohar and the swashbuckling Macneil Noronha complete the squad.
Karnataka are placed in the Elite Group D alongside Tamil Nadu, Saurashtra and Delhi, and will get their campaign underway on November 26 against Uttarakhand.
Karnataka squad: Mayank Agarwal (c), Macneil Hadley Noronha, Shrijith KL (wk), Karun Nair, Smaran R, Abhinav Manohar, Shreyas Gopal, Shikhar Shetty, Vyshak Vijayakumar, Vidwath Kaverappa, Vidyadhar Patil, Shreevathsa R Acharya, Shubhang Hegde, Pravin Dubey, Sharath BR (wk), Devdutt Padikkal.