Ranji Trophy: Hyderabad to begin campaign against strong Tamil Nadu

Hosts Hyderabad have a tough job at hand when they begin their Ranji Trophy campaign against a tough Tamil Nadu

Hyderabad: Hosts Hyderabad have a tough job at hand when they begin their Ranji Trophy campaign against a tough Tamil Nadu outfit in the Elite Group B match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Uppal in Hyderabad on Tuesday.

Led by southpaw Tanmay Agarwal, the Hyderabad team will miss key players – Mohammed Siraj, promising batter N Thakur Tilak Varma and CV Milind. While Siraj is on national duty in Bangladesh, Tilak Varma suffered an injury during India A match against Bangladesh A recently. Left-arm pacer Milind sustained a knee injury during the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament.

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However, Hyderabad are a confident outfit, according to their leader Tanmay and coach Milap Mewada. “Injuries to senior players mean opportunities for youngsters. We have a bunch of players who are very talented. The team is confident ahead of the new season and we are raring to go. We want to take one match at a time,” said captain Tanmay.

With quite a lot of youngsters in the side, Hyderabad are short on experience. With Tanmay being the most experienced player, in K Rohit Rayudu, T Ravi Teja, Tanay Thyagarajan and Ajay Dev Goud, they have talent in abundance.

Coach Mewada is of the opinion the exuberance in the side will compensate for lack of experience. “If you look at the Hyderabad team, it is a very young side. We are short on experience but we prepared the team in such a way they are ready for any situation. Of course, the absence of Siraj, Tilak Varma will make a difference on the paper, but it should not affect the team on the field,” he said.

“We believe in the process. The goal is to do well in each session and do well. If we do the small things right, we can achieve results. As a coach, my job is to make every player ready for any situation. All we need is to play with the intent. These boys are very young and hungry for success,” added Mewada.

The opponents Tamil Nadu are on a good run having broken several records in the recently-concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy. They raked up a record 506/2 in the match against Arunachal Pradesh, to become the first team to score over 500 in a List A match.

N Jagadeesah is fresh from his world record individual score of 277 in List A cricket. He also scored a record fifth consecutive century. Led by Baba Indrajith, Tamil Nadu would fancy their chances. The weather is too set to have its say with the forecast for the next two days not so promising for the game.