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Challenger Series teams announced

The jury is still out on whether the N K P Salve Challenger Trophy series makes sense, coming as it does so soon after the tour of Zimbabwe and just before the ICC-sponsored knockout ODI tournament in Dhaka.

Meanwhile, it was announced that Mohammed Azharuddin will lead India Seniors, while Ajay Jadeja and Saurav Ganguly have been named to lead India A and B teams respectively. The Challenger Trophy, which is to serve as a selection exercise for the Wills International Cup in Dhaka, will be played at Ahmedabad from October 15 to 18.

The teams were finalised by the five national selectors -- Ajit Wadekar, Madan Lal, Shivlal Yadav, Anil Deshpande and Ashok Malhotra--after the fourth day's play of the Irani tie between Ranji champions Karnataka and Rest of India in Bangalore, late Sunday night.

Though most of the international players will be in action, Karnataka speedster Javagal Srinath and leg spinner Anil Kumble do not figure in the list. Wadekar and BCCI secretary J Y Lele were not, however, available for comment about the omission, or any other aspect of the selection, at the time as they had left Bangalore this morning, even before the team list was released to the media.

However, in Mumbai, Wadekar said that the selectors decided they didn't want the two to be burnt out, all over again. "It has happened before, and now we have to nurse them as far as possible," the chairman of selectors explained.

Asked about the wisdom of holding the series, Wadekar said it was a wonderful opportunity for both selectors and youngsters vying for India colours. "The selectors will be closely watching a plethora of limited overs talent," he said.

When asked why the burn out argument was not used to rest Sachin Tendulkar, for one, he said that Sachin's presence throws a challenge to bowlers. "Taking his wicket requires a big effort," he said, arguing that the bowlers of the other two teams would really be on their mettle when bowling to him.

"Besides, most of the burn out cases are of bowlers, not batsmen," Wadekar said.

Asked about the omission of Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, who had been picked for Rest of India in the Irani fixture, from the Challenger Series, board secretary J Y Lele said that too much shouldn't be read into the omission.

"His omission is not an indication that he has been shelved, it could be that the selectors are keeping an eye on him for the longer version of the game," Lele said.

The committee has named only 12 players each for all the three teams.

The selectors appear to have tried to strike a balance by putting Sachin Tendulkar in India B, which is the most inexperienced side and packed with players who are yet to play an international fixture.

Most of the current internationals, and discards like Sujith Somasundar, V V S Laxman, Hrishikesh Kanitkar and Sairaj Bahutule have been included in the Indian Seniors team.

The India team for the Mini World Cup in Dhaka is likely to be named in Ahmedabad on October 18.

Good performances by Somasundar, who cracked a century in the first innings for Karnataka, left arm spinner Sunil Joshi and off spinner Nikhil Chopra had ensured them berths in the various sides.

Among those who will be trying to return to the Indian squad are speedsters Venkatesh Prasad and Dodda Ganesh, all rounder Kanitkar, opener Gagan Khoda and left arm spinner Sunil Joshi.

The teams:

India Seniors: Mohammed Azharuddin (captain), Nayan Mongia, V V S Laxman, Sujith Somasundar, Rahul Dravid, Hrishikesh Kanitkar, Robin Singh, Ajit Agarkar, Debashish Mohanty, Rahul Sanghvi, Harbajan Singh and Sairaj Bahutule.

India A: Ajay Jadeja (captain), Saba Karim, Gagan Khoda, Nikhil Haldipur, Amol Mujumdar, Jatin Paranjpe, Venkatesh Prasad, Dodda Ganesh, Nikhil Chopra, Sunil Joshi, Gyanendra Pandey and Jacob Martin.

India B: Saurav Ganguly (captain), M S K Prasad, Sachin Tendulkar, Rohan Gavaskar, Debang Gandhi, Sanjay Raul, Amay Khurasia, Vanka Pratap, N Madhukar, Robin Singh (Jr), Anantapadmanabhan and Nilesh Kulkarni.

UNI