Pujara to stay at MRC ‘A’ in TNCA league   

They managed to barely stay afloat in the league during the 2019-20 season, despite marquee batsman Cheteshwar Pujara cracking two centuries.

CHENNAI: Monday was a busy day at the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) office as many clubs participating in the first-division league scrambled to register their players for the new season. The season begins on September 1 at various grounds in the city. The first four rounds are slated to be held with only a couple of days of break between each round.MRC ‘A’, who have R Ashwin in their ranks, have made quite a few additions to strengthen their squad.

They managed to barely stay afloat in the league during the 2019-20 season, despite marquee batsman Cheteshwar Pujara cracking two centuries. This season, Pujara, who is currently in England for the Test series along with Ashwin, has confirmed his participation in the league whenever he is not on national duty and free from other commitments. MRC ‘A’ have roped in KV Sasikanth from Andhra and Rishi Dhawan from Himachal Pradesh as their out-station players. The other notable transfers are K Vignesh and Anirudh Sitaram, who have moved to MRC ‘A’ from Jolly Rovers. 

All-rounder Sanjay Yadav, who last played for Alwarpet CC, is another new recruit for MRC ‘A’ and is expected to play a vital role lower down the order. Medium-pacer R Silambarasan is the other new player having moved from Young Stars."We have a balanced team that ticks all the boxes.We are confident of performing better than last season. It all boils down to how we start and carry forward the momentum. We have picked the players keeping in mind the specific roles they have to play. NS Chaturved will lead the team in Ashwin's absence,'' said R Srinivasan, who is player-cum-mentor at MRC ‘A’.Defending champions Jolly Rovers, led by M Kaushik Gandhi, have retained their core team.

Ankeet Bawane, Jalaj Saxena and Akshay Wadkar will continue to play as guest players. India and TN left-arm pacer T Natarajan has left Jolly Rovers and is yet to sign with another team in the league. Sources say that Natarajan will take a decision on a new team after the conclusion of the IPL.Left-arm spinner Bhargav Bhatt will turn out for Vijay CC as a guest player. Vijay CC have retained their core team and many members will play after the conclusion of the IPL.

Swaraj CC have roped in leggie M Ashwin, who played for MRC ‘A’ last season. Globe Trotters will be captained by Washington Sundar when the India all-rounder is available. The TN selectors, led by S Vasudevan, will be watching the first-division league closely in order to pick the probables for the state team ahead of the new domestic season.

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