R Samarth takes over from Karun Nair as captain

Underperforming Karun Nair was relieved of his captaincy with R Samarth handed the reins as the selectors announced a 22-member squad for the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Nair, whose poor form extended to a third straight season in the just-concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy where he managed a meagre 93 runs in six games, managed to retain his place in the side.

"We thought it would be better to relieve him of captaincy which will help him to focus on his batting and rediscover the form of old," Fazal R Khaleel, chairman of the State senior selection committee, told DH.

"Samarth was not part of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, so he doesn't come with any baggage of having lost so badly in the quarterfinals. Samarth is a seasoned performer for Karnataka for the last 6-7 seasons. He's played India A and he has shown his class considerably over the years."

For someone, who was not even considered worth being in the 20-member squad for the Mushtaq Ali Trophy, this is both a massive endorsement of his abilities and an indictment of the selection panel.

"We felt it would be nice to hand him the charge. He comes in with fresh ideas and it's a great chance for him to show his hunger, desire and captaincy nuances. There's a good mix of youngsters and established players. Yes, we will miss the services of stars like Manish (Pandey), (KL) Rahul and Mayank (Agarwal) but this is a great chance for guys like Devdutt (Padikkal), Rohan (Kadam) and (D) Nischal to step up."

The selection committee decided to crack the whip following a poor show in the Mushtaq Ali where Karnataka miraculously sneaked into the quarterfinals before being eliminated by Punjab. Vice-captain Pavan Deshpande, pacers Prateek Jain and V Koushik and leg-spinner Pravin Dubey were dropped.

Medium-pace duo of Vyshak Vijay Kumar and Aditya Somanna, young batsman Nikin Jose and wicketkeeper R Rakshith were handed maiden call-ups while left-arm spinner Shubhang Hegde was recalled.

"Nikin has done well in YSR and U-23 tournament, so have Vyshak, Shubhang and Aditya. I am a firm believer that young in-form players should be given an opportunity when available. Many seniors are missing and as I said, this is the chance for them to graduate. We've given them a platform to express themselves and it's up to them to take Karnataka cricket forward."

Samarth, meanwhile, said he's delighted to be leading Karnataka. "It's a matter of pride and privilege to be leading a powerhouse like Karnataka. It's a dream come true. We have a good mix of seasoned players, some youngsters who have been playing for Karnataka at the senior level and some youngsters waiting to breakthrough. It's going to very challenging but I'm geared up for it."

The Squad: R Samarth (captain), Devdutt Padikkal, Rohan Kadam, D Nischal, Karun Nair, KL Shrijith, BR Sharath (wk), S Rakshith (wk), Anirudha Joshi, KV Siddharth, Nikin Jose, Shreyas Gopal, K Gowtham, J Suchith, Aditya Somanna, Shubhang Hegde, Abhimanyu Mithun, Prasidh Krishna, Ronit More, Vyshak Vijay Kumar, Manoj Bhandage, MB Darshan.

Coach: Yere Goud; Bowling coach: A Arvind; Physio: Jaba Prabhu; Manager: Anutosh Poll. Massuer: Somasundar CM; Video analyst: Vinodh.