Ronit ‘rested’ for Mushtaq Ali Trophy

Ronit More, who had a breakthrough season in the Ranji Trophy, has been rested as Karnataka named a 15-member squad with five uncapped players for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy to be held in Cuttack from February 21 to March 2.

“He had an exhausting Ranji Trophy season. He was our leading wicket-taker and he needs rest. We wanted him to take a break which he deserves,” said Raghuram Bhat, chairman of selectors of the senior team.

It appears the team management is keen on grooming More, who picked 37 wickets in the Ranji Trophy, as a red-ball cricket specialist.

Off-spinning all-rounder K Gowtham, who sustained a shoulder injury in the ongoing Irani Cup, was ruled out.

Manish Pandey will continue to lead the side while Karun Nair has been named his deputy.

KV Siddharth, who had an impressive debut Ranji season with 728 runs, has been rewarded with a place in the squad. The other four new entrants are left-hand batsman Rohan Kadam, all-rounder Manoj Bhandage, right-arm medium pacer V Koushik and wicketkeeper-batsman Luvnith Sisodia.

“Just like in the Ranji Trophy, we are providing chances for youngsters who have done well. Apart from their regular roles, we have given importance to the fielding skills of these youngsters as that’s an area of great importance in T20s,” Bhatt said.

Squad: Manish Pandey (captain), Karun Nair (vice-captain), Mayank Agarwal, Rohan Kadam, BR Sharath (wicketkeeper), J Suchith, Shreyas Gopal, R Vinay Kumar, Prasidh Krishna, A Mithun, KC Cariappa, V Koushik, KV Siddharth, Manoj Bhandage, Luvnith Sisodia (wicketkeeper).