Hosts Delhi will liketo consolidate their position in Group B as they take on a depleted Baroda sidein the third round Ranji Trophy encounter at the Feroz Shah Kotla from tomorrow.
Having lost their first matchagainst Uttar Pradesh with a full-strength side, a relatively younger side ledby Shikhar Dhawan made amends against minnows Odisha by getting seven pointsand are now second in the points table behind UP.
Delhi side will be boosted by thepresence of their 'Man for all seasons' Rajat Bhatia and the crafty AshishNehra who wil be coming into the playing XI.
Baroda, on the otherhand, will bemissing their skipper Yusuf Pathan who had sustained a finger injury and has beenruled out of this game.
With their star all-rounder IrfanPathan also going out for a month due to knee injury, the onus will be onseasoned pro Ambati Rayudu who will be leading the side in Yusuf's absence.
"Obviously they (Pathanbrothers) are big players and their absence will be felt but we need to learnto live without them. There are times in the past when Baroda have playedwithout them. We have some quality players who are expected to do well,"coach Sanath Kumar told the reporters on the eve of the match.
For Delhi coach Vijay Dahiya andskipper Shikhar Dhawan, the bone of contention will be the player whom Nehrawill replace.
"Rajat is coming back inplace of Mohit Sharma but we haven't decided who will be the other player whomAshish will replace," Dahiya told reporters.
It can be one of the left-armspinners between Vikas Mishra or Manan Sharma but even India A pacer ParvinderAwana is not a certainty.
"We had decided at the startof the season that we will be rotating our pacers. Pawan Suyal bowledbrilliantly in the last match and Narwal has had a consistent all-roundperformance. We will also rest Narwal but not now," Dahiya kept cardsclose to his chest.
"Awana is also amatch-winner in his own rights but Delhi side is not about making statement tonational selectors. That combination will play which is the best in theinterest of the team."