<p>Bengaluru: Ranji Trophy performers and future potentials were dealt a raw deal as quota demands appear to have prevailed while picking the South Zone team for the upcoming Duleep Trophy in Puducherry on Saturday. </p>.<p>Karnataka pacer V Koushik, who claimed 23 wickets last Ranji Trophy season, and batter R Smaran, who hammered 516 runs in just seven games, received a royal snub by the South Zone selectors. While Smaran was put in as a stand-bye, Koushik wasn’t included among them. </p>.<p>Snehal Kauthankar, the 29-year-old Goa batter, has been included in the 16-member squad. His 949 runs last Ranji season may justify his selection but when when consider that those runs came in the Plate group, including his unbeaten 202 against Nagaland.</p>.<p>Tamil Nadu’s 19-year-old batter Andre Siddarth, who amassed 600-plus runs in eight games, has also been kept as one of the six stand-byes.</p>.<p>Kerala, by virtue of being in the final of the Ranji Trophy, have managed to squeeze in four players but Basil NP’s selection beggars belief. The 28-year-old pacer claimed 16 wickets in five games in the season gone by. Edhen Apple Tom’s inclusion among stand-byes is equally surprising. The medium pacer, who has played three first-class matches over three years, appeared only in the final of Ranji Trophy last season and claimed four wickets.</p>.<p>It’s unclear if Koushik’s decision to represent Goa from next season left him with no supporters in the selection meeting. </p>.<p>Hyderabad batter Tialk Varma didn’t play a single Ranji Trophy match last season, and managed 148 runs, including a 111 n.o., in four Duleep Trophy innings last year. While his form in County championship for Hampshire, for whom he has scored 315 in five innings, should be good enough to pick him, handing him captaincy ahead of Sai Kishore, who took Tamil Nadu to semifinals, is a bit outlandish.</p>.<p>Middle-order batter Devdutt Padikkal and pacer Vyshak Vijaykumar made the cut from Karnataka ranks in the 16-member squad. </p>.<p>Tanmay Agarwal, with 934 runs including four hundreds, for Hyderabad. </p>.<p>The competition will return to a Zonal format this time around with the BCCI deciding to scrap the India A, B, C and D format. </p>.<p>The quarterfinals of the tournament will see North Zone clash East Zone while Central Zone face North East Zone. South and West Zones have received direct entries to the semifinals, where they will face the winner of the first and second quarterfinals, respectively. </p>.<p class="ListBody"><span class="bold">South Zone squad:</span> Tilak Varma (c), Mohammed Azharuddeen (vc), Tanmay Agarwal, Devdutt Padikkal, Mohit Kale, Salman Nizar, Narayan Jagadeesan, T Vijay , R Sai Kishore, Tanay Thyagarajan, Vyshak Vijaykumar, MD Nidheesh, Ricky Bhui, Basil NP, Gurjapneet Singh, Snehal Kauthankar.</p>.<p class="ListBody"><span class="bold">Stand-by:</span> Mohit Redkar, R Smaran, Ankit Sharma, Edhen Apple Tom, Andre Siddarth, Shaikh Rasheed.</p>
<p>Bengaluru: Ranji Trophy performers and future potentials were dealt a raw deal as quota demands appear to have prevailed while picking the South Zone team for the upcoming Duleep Trophy in Puducherry on Saturday. </p>.<p>Karnataka pacer V Koushik, who claimed 23 wickets last Ranji Trophy season, and batter R Smaran, who hammered 516 runs in just seven games, received a royal snub by the South Zone selectors. While Smaran was put in as a stand-bye, Koushik wasn’t included among them. </p>.<p>Snehal Kauthankar, the 29-year-old Goa batter, has been included in the 16-member squad. His 949 runs last Ranji season may justify his selection but when when consider that those runs came in the Plate group, including his unbeaten 202 against Nagaland.</p>.<p>Tamil Nadu’s 19-year-old batter Andre Siddarth, who amassed 600-plus runs in eight games, has also been kept as one of the six stand-byes.</p>.<p>Kerala, by virtue of being in the final of the Ranji Trophy, have managed to squeeze in four players but Basil NP’s selection beggars belief. The 28-year-old pacer claimed 16 wickets in five games in the season gone by. Edhen Apple Tom’s inclusion among stand-byes is equally surprising. The medium pacer, who has played three first-class matches over three years, appeared only in the final of Ranji Trophy last season and claimed four wickets.</p>.<p>It’s unclear if Koushik’s decision to represent Goa from next season left him with no supporters in the selection meeting. </p>.<p>Hyderabad batter Tialk Varma didn’t play a single Ranji Trophy match last season, and managed 148 runs, including a 111 n.o., in four Duleep Trophy innings last year. While his form in County championship for Hampshire, for whom he has scored 315 in five innings, should be good enough to pick him, handing him captaincy ahead of Sai Kishore, who took Tamil Nadu to semifinals, is a bit outlandish.</p>.<p>Middle-order batter Devdutt Padikkal and pacer Vyshak Vijaykumar made the cut from Karnataka ranks in the 16-member squad. </p>.<p>Tanmay Agarwal, with 934 runs including four hundreds, for Hyderabad. </p>.<p>The competition will return to a Zonal format this time around with the BCCI deciding to scrap the India A, B, C and D format. </p>.<p>The quarterfinals of the tournament will see North Zone clash East Zone while Central Zone face North East Zone. South and West Zones have received direct entries to the semifinals, where they will face the winner of the first and second quarterfinals, respectively. </p>.<p class="ListBody"><span class="bold">South Zone squad:</span> Tilak Varma (c), Mohammed Azharuddeen (vc), Tanmay Agarwal, Devdutt Padikkal, Mohit Kale, Salman Nizar, Narayan Jagadeesan, T Vijay , R Sai Kishore, Tanay Thyagarajan, Vyshak Vijaykumar, MD Nidheesh, Ricky Bhui, Basil NP, Gurjapneet Singh, Snehal Kauthankar.</p>.<p class="ListBody"><span class="bold">Stand-by:</span> Mohit Redkar, R Smaran, Ankit Sharma, Edhen Apple Tom, Andre Siddarth, Shaikh Rasheed.</p>
