IPL selection of Bhagath, Yudhvir cheers up Hyderabad
Hyderabad’s Bhagath Varma, who plays for R Dayanand XI, and Jammu-born Yudhvir Singh Charak, who plays for Budding Stars, in the local leagues have been signed by CSK and MI respectively
Hyderabad: A debate has been whipped up by Mohammed Azharuddin, who expressed his disappointment over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) overlooking Hyderabad players. His detractors, however, say the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) president should first set his own house in order.
After the IPL auction, Azharuddin tweeted: “Very disappointed not to see a single player from Hyderabad in the Hyderabad Sunrisers Team.” He is right in his anguish for not having many players in IPL but HCA would have to take the blame, say his detractors.
The HCA had courted controversy both during the selection for the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 and Vijay Hazare one-day tournaments. Hyderabad’s performances in the T20 tournament were least impressive, winning only one match out of five akin to the disastrous 2019-20 Ranji Trophy season. There was hardly a player who could attract a franchise like Shah Rukh Khan (Tamil Nadu) or Mohd Azharuddin (Kerala) in Thursday’s IPL auction.
“SRH need not be blamed as there are no outstanding performances, save for one or two from players like Thakur Tilak Verma that merits selection in the IPL. All these years HCA has made a mockery of selections and now they blame SRH. There was non-existent of selectors when the team for Vijay Hazare tournament was picked, much against the Lodha Committee reforms. Having learnt lessons, HCA should set the house in order as top priority,” said a club secretary.
In Thursday’s IPL auction, Hyderabad’s Bhagath Varma, who plays for R Dayanand XI, and Jammu-born Yudhvir Singh Charak, who plays for Budding Stars, in the local leagues have been signed by Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians respectively. Two players from Andhra Pradesh, K Srikar Bharat (wicketkeeper batsman) and Marram Reddy Harishankar Reddy have been roped in by Royal Challengers Bangalore and CSK respectively.
Mother Uma Devi was elated when she came to know that her son 22-year-old Bhagath Varma of Marredpally East has been brought by MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings. “Finally justice has prevailed and talent recognised,’’ said an emotional Uma Devi. Verma started playing cricket at the age of six. “He never misses a single session and has represented Hyderabad in all age groups after joining St Andrew’s School. John Manoj and coach Iqbal have played a big role in shaping my son’s career,’’ she said.
Varma was the highest wicket taker with 38 odd wickets in Cooch Behar under-19 tournament in 2017. He was selected for Indian camp where he impressed some big coaches like Rahul Dravid and was selected for the England tour. After returning from the England tour, he was left in the cold by the Hyderabad selectors. He was ignored for last month’s Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament before being selected for the Vijay Hazare one-day tournament which will start from Saturday.
Hailing from Jammu where his father Dharam Singh Charak is employed in the revenue department, fast bowler Yudhvir came to Hyderabad to pursue his career in cricket. He had represented Jammu & Kashmir in the Under-19 tournament where he had a five-wicket haul against Mumbai. “I came to Hyderabad in 2018 because the cricket infrastructure is better than Jammu where I could get opportunities in the local leagues in the city,’’ said the 23-year-old from Jammu.
Impressed with his fast bowling, Yudhvir played for Hyderabad in the under-23 tournament and picked five wickets against Madhya Pradesh. The speedster got his Ranji Trophy breakthrough last year. He hits the deck hard and has good yorkers. In the last two years he has been bowling in Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians nets.
Pace bowling coach Zaheer Khan spotted the talent in Yudhvir before he picked him in Thursday’s auction. “I was so happy to bowl to the likes of Rohit Sharma and others. Jasprit Bumrah gave me a few tips last year,’’ said Yudhvir, who is in Jammu now and visited the Vaishno Devi Temple for thanks-giving prayer.
Yudhvir was in the T20 Hyderabad team but was dropped for the Vijay Hazare one-day tournament.
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