“This is the first time the Indian team has been selected with the unique format of the Sixes in mind and I believe we have one of the best combinations,” warned Vivek Bakshi, manager of the Indian squad.
India will have a band of IPL-hardened players at its core, namely Paul Valthaty, the Kings XI Punjab opening batsman, Rajasthan Royals’ bowler Ajit Chandela and Siddharth Chitnis, a useful batting all-rounder who bowls off-spin and who also turns out for the same team as Valthaty.
The team will be captained by Praveen Kumar, who has represented India at all forms of cricket, and is the only player after the legendary Kapil Dev to bowl a natural outswinger.
A lot of thought has been put by the Indian selectors into this team as the country make an attempt to catch up on Pakistan’s superb record at the Hong Kong Sixes. India has only won the tournament once, back in 2005 when a young Mahendra Singh Dhoni turned out for them.
Any clash between India and Pakistan is treated as the mother of all matches. Cries of ‘Pakistan Zindabad will be matched with ‘Chak De India’ as both teams will be reminded that nothing but the best is desired from their supporters at the KARP Group Hong Kong Sixes.
Passions will run high when the two sides meet on Saturday afternoon, and the stakes will be even higher - for with Sri Lanka also in the same group, victory will be vital as the loser might have trouble securing a place in the Cup competition.
Squad: Praveen Kumar (Captain), Ajit Chandela, Siddharth Chitnis, Ishan Malhotra, Sandeep Sharma, Siddharth Trivedi, Paul Valthaty, Vivek Bakshi (Manager)
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