Calcutta/Rajkot: With the World T20 enthralling the cricket fans, the Challenger Trophy, which begins on Saturday, might seem to be a forlorn child of the game.
Considering the busy International season that lies ahead, a match-winning knock here and a five-wicket haul there may just influence Sandeep Patil and Co. enough to include them in the national team roster.
Saturday's game in Rajkot will see national one-day champions Bengal take on India A.
Bengal, under the leadership of Wriddhiman Saha, actually have quite a difficult job on their hands. The India A squad is stuffed with experienced players.
Manoj Tiwary is one player whom the Bengal side will miss dearly. The batsman is currently in Sri Lanka for the World T20. In the bowling department, the absence of Ashok Dinda will be sorely felt. He, too, is with the Mahendra Singh Dhonis.
The Bengal squad has two fresh faces in Ravikant Singh and Sandipan Das.
Both the players were part of the victorious India under-19 squad who triumphed in Australia. But it remains to be seen if they manage to make it to the playing XI.
The India A squad, on the other hand, look balanced on paper having batsmen like Ajinkya Rahane, Robin Uthappa, Dinesh Karthik, Yusuf Pathan, Ishant Sharma and Pragyan Ojha, apart from captain Subramaniam Badrinath.