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Mistaken Identity---No More Puhleez! |
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Pitched By Subhangi Sinha
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Monday, 27 October 2008 |
The three national selectors who have come here deny vehemently but has there been a case of mistaken identity at the Challenger Series, the final of which was played under the Barabati Stadium lights
on Sunday? There are suggestions that Ravi Inder Singh, the Punjab middleorder batsman included in the India Blue team, has actually been confused with Ravindra ‘Sing’ Jadeja, vice-captain of the team that lifted the Under-19 World Cup in Kuala Lumpur earlier this year.
There are apparently good reasons, for the Punjab left-hander suffers in comparison to Saurashtra allrounder Jadeja. Singh has just six first-class and six List A matches under his belt while Jadeja played for India A as recently as the ‘Test’ series against New Zealand.
“We selected Ravi Inder because we wanted to take a look at him. He is a good middle-order batsman,” a selector told TOI on conditions of anonymity.While chief selector Krishnamachari Srikkanth and North’s representative Yashpal Sharma are on their way back from abroad, the selectors here Narendra Hirwani, Surendra Bhave and Raja Venkat categorically denied any mix-up. “There is no question of mistaken identity,” they said in one voice while they watched Sunday’s one-sided final.
Twenty one-year-old Ravi Inder played in the Blues’ first match here on Thursday, scoring 17 before he was bowled by India Red’s Lakshmipathy Balaji. He has since been rested.How did India Blue captain Yuvraj Singh find Ravi Inder? "Well, he's a youngster playing only his first Challenger Series; even I wasn't so confident when I played my first Challenger," he said. "The selectors told us to give everyone a game and that's just what we did," he added. Saurashtra coach Debu Mitra was surprised at Jadeja’s exclusion. "I don't know anything about a mix-up but Jadeja definitely deserved a place," he said.
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