JOIN USKarun, Mithun, Sharath back in team
After scripting a thumping 92-run victory over Rajasthan in their Group ‘A’ Ranji Trophy encounter despite fielding a weakened side, defending champions Karnataka have been bolstered by the return of three first-choice players ahead of their next game against Odisha, starting from Saturday in Mysuru.
Karun Nair, Abhimanyu Mithun and HS Sharath have returned to the side, giving Karnataka the boost they need to target their second win.
S L Akshay, Pavan Deshpande and KC Avinash will make way for Nair, Mithun and Sharath in the 15-member squad.
The in-form Nair, who was part of the Board President’s XI team that played a two-day practice match against South Africa on October 30 and 31 in Mumbai, comes back into the State side to strengthen the middle order.
Sharath, who was ruled out of the match against Rajasthan due to fever and dehydration, was expected to be out of action for three weeks, but the Mandya paceman has made a quick recovery to give captain R Vinay Kumar more options in the bowling line-up.
Mithun, who missed matches against Haryana and Rajasthan due to a leg injury, was declared fit to play by the team officials. Karnataka though will continue to miss the services of the injured middle-order batsmen Manish Pandey and Shishir Bhavane as both the players are yet to recover completely.
The squad: R Vinay Kumar (capt), Robin Uthappa, R Samarth, Karun Nair, CM Gautam, Abhishek Reddy, Shreyas Gopal, S Arvind, HS Sharath, Udit Patel, Stuart Binny, David Mathias, Mayank Agarwal, J Suchith, Mir Kaunian Abbas.