Odisha Announces U-25 Squad For BCCI ODI Tournament

 
The Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) on Wednesday announced a 22-members squad for the forthcoming BCCI U-25 ODI tournament.

Sandeep Patnaik has been appointed as the skipper of the State team for the important tournament.

The tournament will kick-start at Rajkot on November 20. Odisha will meet mighty Vidarbha in the inaugural encounter. In their subsequent matches, Odisha will lock horns with Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka respectively.

The team is scheduled to leave for Rajkot on November 12.

“We have a good blend of experienced and young players in our team. We have also roped in some utility all-round players. We are hopeful of a good show in the tournament,” said Prabhanjan Mallik, Chairman of the OCA Senior Selection Committee.

The Odisha senior team had recently bowed out of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament following a poor performance. The team lost four consecutive matches out of five to finish last in the Elite Group-A with just four points in their kitty.

Odisha had kicked off their campaign well by pulling up a thrilling four wicket win over Goa in their inaugural match. However, they lost momentum afterwards suffering as many as four losses including some close encounters.

Odisha Chief Coach Wasim Jaffer had pointed to umpiring blunders for his team’s loss in some crucial matches during the tournament.