Pace bowlers in focus as Deodhar Trophy returns after four years

Venkatesh Iyer (central zone captain), practising for Deodhar Trophy at Siechem Stadium in Puducherry on Sunday.
| Photo Credit: S.S. Kumar

The focus will be on players, especially pacers, who could potentially form the core of India’s white ball and A teams when the Deodhar Trophy kicks off here on Monday.

Over the next 11 days, a clutch of aspirants will be eager to showcase their readiness to carry the India mantle forward while competing for South Zone, North Zone, West Zone, East Zone, Central Zone and North East Zone.

For the premier List A tournament itself, this is a significant moment as it is returning after a gap of four years.

That importance is further accentuated by the presence of some players whose outings will be closely monitored as the senior side has gradually embraced a transition phase.

There will be an extra focus on the pacers, considering some of the premier names are still shaking off the wear and tear of international workload and injuries.

In near future, India will have to field a second line of quicks behind Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammad Siraj, and the Deodhar Trophy presents a brilliant chance for the selectors to cast an eye on possible candidates.

Talking about the candidates, none have been more impressive than the Karnataka duo of Vidwath Kaverappa and Vysakh Vijayakumar.

The pacers had exceptional outings in the Duleep Trophy semifinal and final while turning out for the South Zone.

Vidwath and Vysakh combined to pick 24 wickets between them in those two matches, and they will be eager to keep the attention on them with another round of impact performance.

Akash Madhwal might be 29 but the Uttarakhand pacer has made the people notice him with a string of productive efforts, particularly in the IPL 2023.

The Mumbai Indians pacer has a skiddy action and considerable speed that can unsettle the best in the business.

A rewind to MI’s match against Lucknow Super Giants in which he took five wickets conceding just 5 runs will vouch for that.

Arjun Tendulkar, who recently shifted to Goa in the domestic circuit, will turn out for the South Zone here.

The left-arm speedster would like to register his name among the hopefuls with some good outings here.

Some of the other aspirants such as Nikin Jose, Harshit Rana, Nishant Sindhu and B Sai Sudarshan will join the tournament after the Emerging Asia Cup in Colombo.