JKCA picks a ‘bizarre’ squad for U-23 One-Days

Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) on Monday announced a 15-member squad for the upcoming Under-23 State A One-Day Tournament with a lof of “bizarre” selections.

Left-arm spinner Ranjot Singh, who made it to the NCA camp on the back of his exceptional performances at the U-19 level not long ago, misses out. Mujtaba Yoususf, who has represented senior team in the past and done well, has also not been picked in the team.

Both of them have been kept in stand-bys for uknown reasons. Instead, there are a lot of lesser-known names in the squad.

J&K had done pretty well in the tournament last year but with a “not-so-on-merit squad”, the team might find itself in trouble this time around, suggests former cricketers.

“Players of Ranjot and Mujtaba’s calibre have been left out. Do I need to say more? Just look at the squad yourself and tell me what you make of it. JKCA has been doing many bizarre things recently but no one seems to be bothered,” a former top cricketer said, wishing anonymity.

The cricketer also raised questions about just three Kashmir-based players picked in the 15-member squad.

“I wouldn’t even raise this question if selection would have been on merit. It seems they are ignoring players just because they belong to Kashmir, which is plainly unacceptable,” he added.

Here is the squad:

1. Arya Thakur

2. Qazi Junaid
3. Kanhaiya Wadhawan
4. Shivansh Sharma (Captain)
5. Kawalpreet Singh
6. Musaif Aijaz (Vice Captain)
7. Yawar Hassan
8. Sampark Gupta
9. Archit Mahajan
10. Vishal Kumar
11. Vanshaj Sharma
12. Toheed Ahmed
13. Basit Bashir
14. Manit Jasrotia
15. Govind Sharma

Standbys:

1. Sheikh Janib Javed
2. Mujtaba Yousuf
3. Abhay Tandon
4. Ranjot Singh