A final match-up for many hopefuls to catch the eye

When the Deodhar Trophy squads were announced, the hope for several big names in the list was to catch the selectors’ attention and try and force their way back into national reckoning.

That, however, seems distant now as the final on Saturday, between India-B and India-C, would be a chance for some of the youngsters to stake a claim, at least to the fringes of contention.

Among them would be Shubman Gill, scoring his first List-A century on Thursday, Hanuma Vihari who almost single-handedly dragged an unfancied India B into the final, Mayank Agarwal and Suryakumar Yadav, who once again got the starts and showed potential.

Mature display

Between them, the four got enough runs to put the senior pros in the shade. More than their runs, it has been the way of amassing them that has aroused interest. Both Vihari and Gill showed maturity in taking on the responsibility of seeing their teams through after the seniors faltered.

Prithvi Shaw, unlucky to get hit, might have to miss the Ranji Trophy opener for Mumbai but it is unlikely to affect his selection prospects much. In his absence, the rest had a chance to come into the spotlight and they did so.

Among the bowlers too, the youngsters have impressed. Spinners Mayank Markande and Pappu Roy and medium-pacer Rajneesh Gurbani did well enough for themselves and their teams to come on the selectors’ radar.

Not that there are too many openings in the national side at the moment barring a possible middle-order conundrum. Senior pros — Dinesh Karthik, R. Ashwin, Kedar Jadhav and Karun Nair — have gone back. But with the Australia and New Zealand tours up next for Team India, they would be hoping to come good with the red ball when the longer format kicks in next week.

However, with the team for the remaining ODIs against West Indies announced on Thursday with no place for even Jadhav, flown in specially to test his fitness on the eve of the match, the rest can only hope to register their presence with the selectors. For yet others, the presence of IPL scouts for the upcoming auctions should be motivation enough.