Ranji Trophy 2022 | Karnataka announce a 20-member squad for the knockouts, Manish Pandey to lead

The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) on Tuesday (May 31st) announced a 20-players member Karnataka squad, with captain Manish Pandey leading for their upcoming quarter-final against Uttar Pradesh, scheduled to start from June 6th in Alur, Bangalore. 

The 8 time Ranji champions were grouped previously in Group C, comprising Railways, J&K and Pondicherry. Karnataka finished the group at the top with 16 points after drawing the game against Railways, followed by two wins against the rest of the two teams. 

With KL Rahul and Prasidh Krishna going to be involved in team India duty, the team led by Manish Pandey will miss the services of these two in the quarter-final. KL Rahul will be leading team India in the five matches T20I series against South Africa starting next week (June 9th) and will later travel to the UK for the fifth Test against England. 

Rahul’s absence should not bother them much as they have a pretty strong batting line-up with the likes of Mayank Agarwal and Devdutt Padikkal at the top, followed by skipper Manish Pandey, vice-captain R Samarth and the in form Karun Nair with KV Siddharth. 

However, Prasidh Krishna, who has been only picked for the fifth Test against England, will not be taking part in the quarter-final despite the team set to depart for England in the third week of June. The 26-year-old has been playing non-stop cricket this year and has been advised to take some time off. 

Prasidh, who took a 10-fer against J&K earlier in the tournament, has been replaced by V Koushik in the 20-member squad to strengthen the pace attack, which includes spearheading Ronit More, emerging Vyshak Vijaykumar, Venkatesh M, Vidwath Kaverappa and all-rounder Kishan S Bedare. 

Chairman of the selection committee Fazal Khaleel reflected on the committee’s focus on building the youngsters, despite the return of V Koushik, which was purely because of the lack of experience in the bowling attack due to the Prasidh’s unavailability. 

“Apart From the experience, Koushik is a calm and composed cricketer, who bowls a good line and length (with)consistency,” Fazal Khaleel told TOI.

The 21-year-old young paceman Vidyadhar Patil has been ruled out due to an injury he picked up during training, resulting in a PCL tear in the knee. Patil made his first-class debut earlier in the group stages against Railways in Chennai. 

Krishnappa Gowtham will lead the Karnataka spin attack, which includes Shreyas Gopal, J Suchith and KC Cariappa.

Young Kishan Bedare has replaced Aneeshwar Gautam, following a miraculous form with the bat in the Col CK Nayudu Trophy, where he scored 488 runs in five games for Karnataka U25, at an average of almost 100 (97.60).

“Although we will miss the service of Rahul and Prasidh, we have a well-balanced team. We have a good batting line-up which is complemented by a good spin attack and a fast bowling unit which is a mix of youth and experience,” the chairman added. 

Karnataka squad: Manish Pandey (C), Samarth R (VC), Mayank Agarwal, Devdutt Padikkal, Karun Nair, Siddharth KV, Nischal D, Sharath Srinivas (WK), Sharath B R (WK), Shreyas Gopal, Gowtham K, Shubhang Hegde, Suchith J, Cariappa KC, Ronit More, Koushik V, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Venkatesh M, Vidwath Kaverappa, Kishan S Bedare.