Gujarat tests bench strength in absence of seniors

AHMEDABAD: IPL, they say, is a boon. It was brought in the money beyond expectations, given chance to young talented players to showcase themselves on national TV.
Also, IPL giving contracts to seasoned domestic players means the second line of domestic players too get a look-in for domestic tournaments in absence of the contracted players.
It happened with those Gujarat players who were warming the bench for long.The recently concluded Syed Mustaq Ali T20 Tournament’s Rajkot leg saw Gujarat’s skipper Parthiv Patel missing from the line-up.
He was relieved to join his IPL team RCB. Even inform Venugopal Rao, Akshar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah and Manprit Juneja joined their respective teams. This led to former under-19 World Cup winner Smit Patel being trusted with the job of leading the side.
The 20-year-old stumper did not shy away from his responsibility. "I have the experience of leading the under-19 side but this is for the first time I am leading the senior side," Smit said.
Players like Priyank Panchal, Rajdeep Darbar, Chirag Gandhi and Jay Desai also got a look in. Though the team failed to qualify for the final but youngsters getting a fair chance can be taken as consolation.