Manish Pandey returns; Jain replaces injured Mithun

BENGALURU: A formidable Karnataka batting line-up will be further strengthened by the return of flamboyant batsman Manish Pandey for their forthcoming Ranji Trophy matches against Vidarbha (at Vadodara, Nov 5-8) and Rajasthan (at Vizianagaram, Nov 13-16).
A middle-order bat, Pandey missed the first three matches as he was part of the Indian ODI team for the series against New Zealand that concluded on Saturday.Karnataka will, however, continue to miss star batsman KL Rahul, who is undergoing rehabilitation for a hamstring injury he suffered during the Test series against New Zealand. Rahul, a strong contender for the Test series against England that begins at Rajkot on Nov 9, is likely to undergo a fitness test at the NCA here later this week
In a minor setback, Karnataka will be without speedster Abhimanyu Mithun, who suffered a groin injury during their third-round match against Assam in Mumbai last week. Mithun will be replaced by promising left-arm pacer Prateek Jain. The 22-year-old is in the middle of a good run this season, having taken 23 wickets from three outings in the U-23 CK Nayudu Trophy.
Skipper Vinay Kumar, who injured his calf muscle in the season-opener against Jharkhand in Greater Noida, will return to lead the team. Karun Nair, who captained in Vinay’s absence, will be his deputy.
The former champions, who have recorded two commanding victories against Delhi and Assam to remain unbeaten after three matches to lead Group B with 17 points, will aim to extend their domination when they travel to Vadodara.
Teams for Vidarbha and Rajasthan matches: Vinay Kumar R (capt), Karun Nair (VC), Mayank Agarwal, Samarth R, Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Stuart Binny, Gautam CM (WK), Shreyas Gopal, S Arvind, K Gowtham, Mir Kaunain Abbas, Ronit More, Arjun Hoysala, Prateek Jain, Abrar Kazi.