Mayank Agarwal to lead Hazare squad; Nikin Jose makes cut

BENGALURU: Top-order batter Nikin Jose has been rewarded for his fine performance in the KSCA leagues with a berth in the Karnataka squad for the Vijay Hazare Trophy tournament which gets under way on November 12.
The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) had left the selection of the team to the eleventh hour, naming the squad less than 48 hours before its departure to Kolkata on Wednesday.Opener Mayank Agarwal will continue to lead the side, with R Samarth coming in as his deputy.
Star opener Devdutt Padikkal, who is still recovering from an illness, has been left out while the seasoned KV Siddharth, who recently recovered from tennis elbow, has been omitted owing to lack of match time.
Nihal Ullal has come in as the second wicketkeeper. Medium pacer Vyshak Vijaykumar, the second highest wicket-taker for Karnataka in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy, is nursing a fractured finger and has made way for the experienced Ronit More. Seasoned batter Karun Nair continues to be out of the reckoning.
Karnataka are clubbed with Meghalaya, Delhi, Vidarbha, Jharkhand, Assam, Rajasthan and Sikkim in Group B and will begin their campaign against Meghalaya.
In the previous edition, Karnataka had lost to Tamil Nadu in the quarterfinals.
Team: Mayank Agarwal (C), R Samarth (VC), Manish Pandey, Nikin Jose, Manoj Bhandage, Abhinav Manohar, Sharath BR, Nihal Ullal, Gowtham K, Shreyas Gopal, Suchith J, Vidwath Kaverappa, V Koushik, Ronit More, Venkatesh M. Coach: PV Shashikanth; Fielding coach: Deepak Chougule; Physiotherapist: Jaba Prabhu; S&C coach: KC Avinash; Manager: Anutosh Poll.
Karnataka fixtures (in Kolkata): Nov 12: vs Meghalaya; Nov 13: vs Vidarbha; Nov 15: vs Jharkhand; Nov 17: vs Delhi; Nov 19: vs Assam; Nov 21: vs Sikkim; Nov 23: vs Rajasthan.