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Delhi stumped by Dahiya?s injury
Dahiya hurt himself during the previous match against UP, handing young Puneet Bisht a chance to make his mark in the senior league, reports C Shekhar Luthra.
Delhi received a setback on the eve of their third Ranji Trophy match against Baroda when wicketkeeper Vijay Dahiya was ruled out with a right palm injury.
Dahiya hurt himself during the previous match against Uttar Pradesh, and the internal rupture in the palm has failed to heal, handing young Puneet Bisht a chance to make his mark in the senior league.
Dahiya had helped his team to a decent start to the season with his contribution with the bat and behind the stumps. Delhi captain Mithun Manhas said that a decision on Dahiya would be taken on Saturday morning, but coach Chetan Chauhan has indicated that Bisht would make his debut.
“In all probability, Puneet will play,” said Chauhan on Friday. The Delhi team management also indicated that a seamer would replace veteran left-arm spinner Rahul Sanghvi, who has failed to make an impression in the first two matches. Another veteran, former captain Amit Bhandari, is most likely to replace Sanghvi for his first match of the season.
It would be a test of character for the Delhi bowlers against an experienced Baroda batting line-up that includes Jacob Martin and Connor Williams. With Rishikesh Parab and young Ketan Panchal coming up well, there is every possibility that the match would boil down to a contest between the Baroda batting and the Delhi bowling.
Ashish Nehra will again lead the Delhi attack, and it would be interesting to see whether he can bowl long spells on a flat Ferozeshah Kotla wicket for the third successive match. Baroda coach Ashok Mankad indicated that Nehra and Ishant Sharma hold the key for the match.
“Nehra’s presence has given Delhi the edge but I’m equally concerned about Ishant, who I saw as a junior last year. They can make a difference on any kind of surface,” said Mankad.
Bhandari has been part of the Delhi squad in the last two games despite not having completely recovered from his shoulder surgery. But as the selectors are adamant about giving all the veterans “an honourable exit”, Delhi have already missed an opportunity of building a team for the future.
After their match against UP, the selectors retained Sanghvi, explaining that “there is hardly a left-arm spinner available in Delhi to replace him”. Unlike the last season, when the then skipper Bhandari was part of the selection committee, this year Manhas has not been consulted on key selections.
He has probably been punished for getting off-spinner Yogesh Sachdeva — son of a senior DDCA Sports Committee member — out of the team for last year’s Ranji one-day squad.
Delhi have no real options for change — the 15-member squad includes one player, Sachdeva, who is not likely to play a single match the whole season, and Sanghvi has joined him with his below-par performances. Thus, with two wicketkeepers in the 15, there are only 12 players in the fray to be part of the XI.
The selectors have so far managed to avoid embarrassment because of some good performances by Aakash Chopra, Shikhar Dhawan, Nehra and Ishant on their home ground. But one bad day can easily turn the tables on them.
