Assam start Ranji Trophy campaign from today at ACA Stadium, Barsapara

SPORTS REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Assam will take on Saurashtra in their opening game in the Ranji Trophy which will begin at the ACA Stadium, Barsapara in the city on Tuesday. The match will kick off at 8-30 am.

The tournament returns to its full-fledged home-away format after an ease in COVID-19 restrictions. Assam is placed in the strong group Elite 'B' along with Andhra Pradesh, Saurashtra, Hyderabad, Tamil Nadu, Mumbai, Maharashtra and Delhi.

Assam made a superb performance in the recently concluded Vijay Hazare cricket where they finished among the top four teams in the country. However, the format of the Ranji Trophy is different, and the team needs a little bit of adjustment in their style of play and also in strategy.

Hosts made a couple of changes in their team that took part in the Vijay Hazare Cricket and brought in seasoned batter Gokul Sarma to the squad. The team's batting will mostly depend on Riyan Parag, Swarupam Purkayastha, Sibsankar Roy, Gokul Sarma, Rishav Das and Rahul Hazarika. Captain Kunal Saikia is likely to continue the role of opener with Rahul.

Mrinmoy and Mukhtar will lead the bowling attack of the team.

Assam captain Kunal Saikia felt that a good performance in the recently concluded Vijay Hazare will act as a confidence booster in the team and the side is ready to take the new challenge.

Talking to The Sentinel Kunal said, "The morale of the team is very high after the Vijay Hazare Cricket where we played good cricket. There is nice bonding in the team, and all players are ready to give back up to one another when it is most required. All the players of the team also know what role he has to play this time, and they are trying their best to follow it."

Commenting on the opponent of the first game, Saikia said, "Saurashtra is a strong opponent. So we have to give our 100 per cent on the field to do well against them, and we will try our best."

It may be mentioned here that Saurashtra, the former champion, is playing this game without their key pacer Jaydev Unadkat who flew to Bangladesh to join the Indian squad as a replacement for Mohammed Shami.

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