Delhi chase leather after last-minute replacement Vijayran pulls out

Delhi cricket’s management of selection reared its dull-witted head once again as the Ranji Trophy side was made to chase the leather throughout the first day of the Ranji Trophy game against Tamil Nadu at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground of the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

Tamil Nadu ended the day at 379/1 with Sai Sudharshan unbeaten on 202 and Washington Sundar not out on 96.

Delhi’s bowling suffered a blow early when Pranshu Vijayran had to leave the field due to an injury after bowling just 5.2 overs.

The right-arm pace bowling all-rounder was brought into the side at the last moment, the night before the start of the match, to replace pace bowler Simarjeet Singh who couldn’t recover from his injury.

Simarjeet’s original replacement was Divij Mehra, who had impressed in the 2021-22 season by playing a key role in Delhi’s win over Mumbai that came after over four decades.

Mehra was sent down to under-23 squad, which plays Uttar Pradesh in Meerut on October 23, and Vijayran, apparently at the behest of team management which wanted an all-rounder, was inducted into the team. It was clear that the pace-bowling all-rounder Vijaran lacked fitness and broke down early, forcing captain Himmat Singh to use seven bowlers.

Delhi were also missing Money Grewal who was down with typhoid.

Ayush Badoni, Anuj Rawat, and Hrithik Shokeen were missing from the original squad as they have been picked by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the Men's T20 Emerging Asia Cup 2024 which is set to begin in Oman from October 18.

Tags : Ranji Trophy, Sai Sudharshan, DDCA, Arun Jaitley Stadium, Washington Sundar, Pranshu Vijayran