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Challenger Trophy preview: Lot at stake for India hopefuls
There was a palpable sense of excitement in the nets. After all, there is more than just the title at stake as the cream of women's cricket in India prepares to battle it out in the seventh edition of the Senior Women's Challenger Trophy at the Motibaug Cricket Stadium in Vadodara.
Tucked inside the Laxmi Vilas Palace, the home of royalty, the sprawling venue lies in the heart of the city and could yet be tad difficult to spot for a first-timer if not for Google Maps. Nonetheless, a bunch of fans waited patiently by the lawns - the Irfan Pathan-led Baroda Ranji team had occupied one set of nets. Away from fandom, for the two women's teams - India Blue and India Red - who will face off in the series opener on Saturday (October 22), it was business as usual.
With an eye on the 2017 ICC Women's Cricket World Cup in England, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) reshuffled the domestic fixtures and moved the one-day competitions of the senior teams ahead in the calendar. Barely days after the conclusion of the inaugural championship of the 2016-17 season - the Senior Women's One-Day League - top female cricketers are gearing up for what could be termed as a direct selection for the upcoming international season - the home series against West Indies, to be followed by the 2016 Asia Cup.
There's a cloud over the Indian team's tour of UAE for a bilateral series against Pakistan, the points from three ODIs of which will count towards the ICC Women's Championship. While the two boards have until the end of October to organise the series, BCCI is, given their stand on playing Pakistan, in all likelihood, preparing to host West Indies instead, in the seventh and final round of the championship. If India indeed forfeit the points of the Pakistan series, as demanded by the PCB in case of no-show, the sixth-place team could slip further in the points tally and find themselves in the 10-team Qualifiers early next year to secure a World Cup berth.
In either case, ahead of what seems like a packed international itinerary starting November, the Challenger Trophy provides the top fleet of female cricketers in the country an opportunity to right a few wrongs and press their case for selection. The national team bears a well-settled look, more or less, but with the World Cup looming large, there is very little margin for errors for the seniors. And for those on the fringes, this could well be make or break in front of the five national selectors who are all expected to fly down. The spotlight in the lead up, however, will be on the pacers, especially the young bunch of Mansi Joshi, Pooja Vastrakar and Sukanya Parida among others.
Along with the chance to earn India call-up, what will entice the selected bunch here are the central contracts that are up for renewal. Eleven players, including the likes of Mithali Raj, Harmanpreet Kaur, Jhulan Goswami, Veda Krishnamurthy and Smriti Mandhana, were awarded Grade A and Grade B contracts for their consistency, just ahead of the domestic season last year. The financial stability and job security it offered has since then pepped up the competition internally in the domestic circuit. As the Indian board prepares to announce the new list - with retentions, promotions and new entrants - neither the 11, nor those in the expanded pool will be taking things for granted.
History
India A, India B and India Senior were the three teams that battled it out in the inaugural edition of the Challenger Trophy, in 2008-09 season. After a one-year hiatus the following year, the teams were renamed to Blue, Green and Red.
Blue are the most successful team in the competition's brief history, with four titles to their credit, and defending champions. That, however, counts for little as the squads are constantly reshuffled.
Format
The format of this three-team competition is simple. The teams play their opponents once each and the two at the top of the table vie for the title while the bottom-placed unit at the end of the league stage stands eliminated.
Team News
The Blue and Red teams are packed with India internationals, and will be led by the national captain and vice-captain duo of Raj and Harmanpreet respectively. Green, the Under-19 side in the competition, are the least experienced side, on paper, and interestingly will be coached by the chairman of the national selection panel Hemlata Kala.
It comes as a surprise that Neena Choudhary, who topped the run charts in the preceding Senior Women's One-day League, didn't make it to any of the squads. The right-handed No. 3 batsman amassed 348 runs in seven outings at an astonishing average of 69.60 - that took Himachal Pradesh to the Plate title as well as earned them a promotion to the Elite Group for next year - but unfortunately missed out. Likewise, Himachal's TP Kanwer and Uttar Pradesh's Shivangi Raj - the top-two wicket-takers in the tournament who played an instrumental role in their respective sides' promotion, were surprisingly left out.
On the brighter side, Mandhana and Vanitha VR, both of who had a disappointing T20 WC earlier this year, are back among runs and finished with a tally of 226 and 214 respectively.
Senior pros Raj and Goswami, who missed the previous edition due to injuries, are back this time. Barring Raj, both Blue and Red teams turned up in full strength for the nets. There are no injury concerns and all 13, of both teams, are available for selection.
Pitch and conditions
In the one-day league, three of Railways' four league games, rescheduled to Guntur in Andhra Pradesh at the eleventh hour, were washed out. For a team that boasts of the nucleus of the national team in their ranks, the weather robbed them of some serious game time. That, however, is unlikely to be the case now with the sun shining brightly over Vadorada.
The pitch, on the other hand, gives the impression of a typical batting paradise with close to nothing in it for the bowlers who will have to toil hard barring maybe in the opening spell. A six-one-four combination seems likely for all teams.
Squads:
India Blue: Mithali Raj (Captain), Punam Raut, Thirushkamini, Mona Meshram, Veda Krishnamurthy, Madhusmita Behera, Anuja Patil, Kavita Patil, Shikha Pandey, Mansi Joshi, Preeti Bose, Punam Yadav, Sushma Verma (Wicketkeeper)
Coach: Purnima Rau
India Red: Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandana, S Meghana, Devika Vaidya, V R Vanitha, N Nirajana, Jhulan Goswami, Sukanya Parida, Ekta Bisht, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Mandeep Kaur, D Hemlata, Kalpana R (Wicketkeeper).
Coach: Suman Sharma
India Green U19: Dipti Sharma (Captain), Tanushree Sarkar, Jemimah Rodrigues, Manali Dakshine, E Padmaja, Radha Yadav, Prathyusha C, S I Gulia, Nazhat Parween (Wicketkeeper), Disha Kasat, Anusha N, Yashi Pandey, Sanjula Naik
Coach: Hemlata Kala
Fixtures:
Saturday, October 22: India Red vs India Blue at 9:00 AM IST
Sunday, October 23: India Green U19 vs India Red at 9:00 AM IST
Monday, October 24: India Blue vs India Green U19 at 9:00 AM IST
Tuesday, October 25: Final at 9:00 AM IST
Challenger Trophy preview: Lot at stake for India hopefuls - Cricbuzz
There was a palpable sense of excitement in the nets. After all, there is more than just the title at stake as the cream of women's cricket in India prepares to battle it out in the seventh edition of the Senior Women's Challenger Trophy at the Motibaug Cricket Stadium in Vadodara.
Tucked inside the Laxmi Vilas Palace, the home of royalty, the sprawling venue lies in the heart of the city and could yet be tad difficult to spot for a first-timer if not for Google Maps. Nonetheless, a bunch of fans waited patiently by the lawns - the Irfan Pathan-led Baroda Ranji team had occupied one set of nets. Away from fandom, for the two women's teams - India Blue and India Red - who will face off in the series opener on Saturday (October 22), it was business as usual.
With an eye on the 2017 ICC Women's Cricket World Cup in England, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) reshuffled the domestic fixtures and moved the one-day competitions of the senior teams ahead in the calendar. Barely days after the conclusion of the inaugural championship of the 2016-17 season - the Senior Women's One-Day League - top female cricketers are gearing up for what could be termed as a direct selection for the upcoming international season - the home series against West Indies, to be followed by the 2016 Asia Cup.
There's a cloud over the Indian team's tour of UAE for a bilateral series against Pakistan, the points from three ODIs of which will count towards the ICC Women's Championship. While the two boards have until the end of October to organise the series, BCCI is, given their stand on playing Pakistan, in all likelihood, preparing to host West Indies instead, in the seventh and final round of the championship. If India indeed forfeit the points of the Pakistan series, as demanded by the PCB in case of no-show, the sixth-place team could slip further in the points tally and find themselves in the 10-team Qualifiers early next year to secure a World Cup berth.
In either case, ahead of what seems like a packed international itinerary starting November, the Challenger Trophy provides the top fleet of female cricketers in the country an opportunity to right a few wrongs and press their case for selection. The national team bears a well-settled look, more or less, but with the World Cup looming large, there is very little margin for errors for the seniors. And for those on the fringes, this could well be make or break in front of the five national selectors who are all expected to fly down. The spotlight in the lead up, however, will be on the pacers, especially the young bunch of Mansi Joshi, Pooja Vastrakar and Sukanya Parida among others.
Along with the chance to earn India call-up, what will entice the selected bunch here are the central contracts that are up for renewal. Eleven players, including the likes of Mithali Raj, Harmanpreet Kaur, Jhulan Goswami, Veda Krishnamurthy and Smriti Mandhana, were awarded Grade A and Grade B contracts for their consistency, just ahead of the domestic season last year. The financial stability and job security it offered has since then pepped up the competition internally in the domestic circuit. As the Indian board prepares to announce the new list - with retentions, promotions and new entrants - neither the 11, nor those in the expanded pool will be taking things for granted.
History
India A, India B and India Senior were the three teams that battled it out in the inaugural edition of the Challenger Trophy, in 2008-09 season. After a one-year hiatus the following year, the teams were renamed to Blue, Green and Red.
Blue are the most successful team in the competition's brief history, with four titles to their credit, and defending champions. That, however, counts for little as the squads are constantly reshuffled.
Format
The format of this three-team competition is simple. The teams play their opponents once each and the two at the top of the table vie for the title while the bottom-placed unit at the end of the league stage stands eliminated.
Team News
The Blue and Red teams are packed with India internationals, and will be led by the national captain and vice-captain duo of Raj and Harmanpreet respectively. Green, the Under-19 side in the competition, are the least experienced side, on paper, and interestingly will be coached by the chairman of the national selection panel Hemlata Kala.
It comes as a surprise that Neena Choudhary, who topped the run charts in the preceding Senior Women's One-day League, didn't make it to any of the squads. The right-handed No. 3 batsman amassed 348 runs in seven outings at an astonishing average of 69.60 - that took Himachal Pradesh to the Plate title as well as earned them a promotion to the Elite Group for next year - but unfortunately missed out. Likewise, Himachal's TP Kanwer and Uttar Pradesh's Shivangi Raj - the top-two wicket-takers in the tournament who played an instrumental role in their respective sides' promotion, were surprisingly left out.
On the brighter side, Mandhana and Vanitha VR, both of who had a disappointing T20 WC earlier this year, are back among runs and finished with a tally of 226 and 214 respectively.
Senior pros Raj and Goswami, who missed the previous edition due to injuries, are back this time. Barring Raj, both Blue and Red teams turned up in full strength for the nets. There are no injury concerns and all 13, of both teams, are available for selection.
Pitch and conditions
In the one-day league, three of Railways' four league games, rescheduled to Guntur in Andhra Pradesh at the eleventh hour, were washed out. For a team that boasts of the nucleus of the national team in their ranks, the weather robbed them of some serious game time. That, however, is unlikely to be the case now with the sun shining brightly over Vadorada.
The pitch, on the other hand, gives the impression of a typical batting paradise with close to nothing in it for the bowlers who will have to toil hard barring maybe in the opening spell. A six-one-four combination seems likely for all teams.
Squads:
India Blue: Mithali Raj (Captain), Punam Raut, Thirushkamini, Mona Meshram, Veda Krishnamurthy, Madhusmita Behera, Anuja Patil, Kavita Patil, Shikha Pandey, Mansi Joshi, Preeti Bose, Punam Yadav, Sushma Verma (Wicketkeeper)
Coach: Purnima Rau
India Red: Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandana, S Meghana, Devika Vaidya, V R Vanitha, N Nirajana, Jhulan Goswami, Sukanya Parida, Ekta Bisht, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Mandeep Kaur, D Hemlata, Kalpana R (Wicketkeeper).
Coach: Suman Sharma
India Green U19: Dipti Sharma (Captain), Tanushree Sarkar, Jemimah Rodrigues, Manali Dakshine, E Padmaja, Radha Yadav, Prathyusha C, S I Gulia, Nazhat Parween (Wicketkeeper), Disha Kasat, Anusha N, Yashi Pandey, Sanjula Naik
Coach: Hemlata Kala
Fixtures:
Saturday, October 22: India Red vs India Blue at 9:00 AM IST
Sunday, October 23: India Green U19 vs India Red at 9:00 AM IST
Monday, October 24: India Blue vs India Green U19 at 9:00 AM IST
Tuesday, October 25: Final at 9:00 AM IST
Challenger Trophy preview: Lot at stake for India hopefuls - Cricbuzz
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