JOIN USPaceman Ronit More is one of five players from Karnataka in the 16-man South Zone Deodhar Trophy squad picked in Kochi on Monday.
Besides the 20-year-old paceman, Robin Uthappa, Ganesh Satish, Stuart Binny and Abhimanyu Mithun are the others in the side which will led by Tamil Nadu wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Kaarthick. Uthappa has been appointed Kaarthick’s deputy. South Zone play their first match against Central Zone on March 16, the winners going on to meet North Zone in the semifinals on March 18.
A notable exclusion from the squad is middle-order batsman Manish Pandey, who hasn’t had a good run since his return to action following a hernia operation. The right-hander could muster just 35 runs from five matches in the South Zone one-dayers and the zonal selection committee, headed by Krishnamachari Srikkanth, decided to exclude the Karnataka batsman. “The committee was unanimous that Manish is India material but at the same, we also felt that the batsman needs to regain rhythm before he can be considered again,” said J Abhiram, who represented Karnataka in his capacity as the State selection panel chief.
More also, Abhiram pointed out, got the nod from the other selectors. “Quite a few selectors who witnessed More during the South Zone one-dayers were quite impressed with him and thought he needed to be given the break.” The right-arm quick bagged 15 wickets from five matches at an impressive average of 11.53, including a six-wicket haul in his debut against Goa.
The squad: Dinesh Kaarthick (capt, wk), Robin Uthappa (vice-capt), S Aniruddha, Abhinav Mukund, Ravi Teja, Ganesh Satish, Stuart Binny, Abhimanyu Mithun, Ronit More, Prasanth Parameshwaran, Pragyan Ojha, Akshath Reddy, Rohan Prem, AG Pradeep, Shadab Jakati, Ashish Reddy. Stand bys: Amit Verma, P Prashant, Nizar Niyas, Robert Fernandez, Atchut Rao, D Prashant Kumar. Coach: Biju George. Manager: D Gopakumar. Physio: Dilip Singh.