Delhi's qualification hopes on the edge

Wed, Nov 4 05:41 AM

While Delhi have gotten off to a flier against Baroda in their Ranji opener, the Capital's under-22 team find themselves in a spot of bother. Having lost both their opening games to Baroda and Railways, the Rajkumar Sharma-coached side are forced to begin their knockouts early, requiring nothing less than a victory against Tamil Nadu and Assam to qualify for the next round.

With Yogesh Nagar and Gaurav Chabra — one of the architects of Delhi's mammoth 300-2 scoreboard on Tuesday — drafted into the senior team for the Ranji Trophy, Sharma believes that their absence will give a chance to youngsters to showcase their talent in the match against Tamil Nadu starting from Wednesday.

"I am happy that Yogesh and Gaurav have got a chance to play in Delhi's first team. It is a great learning curve for them," Sharma told Sportline. "Of course, it weakens our side for the upcoming do-or-die matches, but their absence gives a chance to blood younger talent. The selectors have made five changes to the squad and I hope it works out," he said.

Sharma feels that it was not the lack of star players that did them in during the first two games, but the fact that they did not capitalise on their starts. "We did not play our best cricket. If we intend to progress further in the tournament, then it's time to pull up our socks. TN have already made it into the next round, which leaves only one place open." But with Pawan Suyal — who was also in the Ranji side with Chabra and Nagar — all set to take the field at St. Stephen's ground on Wednesday, as he did not feature in the starting XI against Baroda, Sharma feels the left-arm seamer's return is a silver lining. "Suyal will be joining us tomorrow . His presence in the dressing room will be a boost for us," he said. "We have some tough games ahead, but I think we are up to the challenge."

Although Suyal did not get his chance with the senior team, the 20-year-old said he was just happy to share the same dressing room. "It was a great experience to travel with the team. I am not feeling too bad that I didn't get a chance to play, I am just very happy with the opportunity," he said. "Tamil Nadu are a tough team and Assam are slightly weaker, but I will try my best."

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