Captain: Navaneeth CV
A new team out there? HS18’s maiden campaign in Prem Ranjan was not a fruitful one. Last year, HS18 had three PhD scholars in their playing eleven. That they will not have that benefit this year would mean that they will have to change their team structure altogether. Injuries to their lead players Priyavadhana and Thejaswini add to the worry. But HS18 has some bonuses this year as well. Improvement in Anand’s bowling, the discovery of Umadevi and the inclusion of Biyas, the old time stalwart in the tournament’s history, will be some of the key highlights of the team this season.
Last year’s story
HS18’s take away from their maiden campaign would very much be their very bitter experience of it, losing both the matches by huge margins. HS18’s bowling and fielding was highly unimpressive with the team not managing to get more than one of their opponents’ wickets in the two group matches that they played last year. HS18 could neither manage to get a lead bowler nor could they have four core bowlers. In their squad this year, Navaneeth CV has the most number of runs under his belt (with 44 runs in 2 matches for HS18 in 2019). Another shortcoming of HS18 in the last season was their inability to find a proper opening pair and stick to it in both their games. Here, they have a new ray of hope with Biyas coming in this year. The inclusion of Biyas Muhammad could provide some much needed assistance to the team’s existing bowling attack, if not a lead.
The Team
While their maiden campaign might not have been memorable, they may have to form a team anew, a new order of things! Navaneeth and Biyas are probably their best batters. Can they do what Dilip-Sannihit duo has done for HS13 in the past, taking their team to the title all by themselves? It is very unfortunate that injuries to Priya and Thejaswini might curtail their bowling services. But, Umadevi is a very good find as a bowler. Although she is yet to open her account in Prem Ranjan, she has already represented the department team in the inter department league earlier this February. Uma’s athletic skills, her will to take-up responsibility and ability to pick up quickly and execute them makes her an able replacement for the Priya-Thejaswini duo. Navaneeth CV is also a decent bowler and a good fielder who could make an impact with his bowling if he gets support from the other end. It is here that Biyas again becomes very crucial, that is, in terms of consolidating and anchoring the bowling attack. Another bowling option could be Anand Krishna, who was seen bowling decently in the nets and could assist the bowling department in a useful manner and is likely to open the account for his team by bowling a few overs. Anand’s services can be very fruitful if he sticks to the basics. The other batters in the team who can make valuable contributions are Vibhu and Nitish. Priya who might not bowl considering her injury is a good batter, and could rotate strike and hit some boundaries in the middle overs. Fielding is one aspect that HS18 has to work on, especially ground fielding and stopping boundaries. Some of them like Soorya and Uma can run fast, but it remains to be seen how HS18 is going to work on their fielding combinations and fielding positions. The others in the playing eleven might be Jabir, Ishan, Navaneeth MS, Amina and Vallabi. This could be a second opening for them into Prem Ranjan
Player to watch out for: Navaneeth CV
Navaneeth has to take the responsibility of leading from the front as a captain and as a player, in bowling and in batting. Batting looks to be the more fragile half for HS18, and Navaneeth might be expected to bat longer in the innings, burdened by the responsibility of avoiding a high risk – high reward game which might prevent him from batting in a free flowing manner. Therefore, the game plan becomes very important if a Navaneeth-Biyas combo is to get hold together throughout, controlling the game.
Prospects
It is a new team with a lot of changes and surprises awaiting Sangam ground on the inaugural day of Prem Ranjan on Monday. Where HS18 lost the battle in 2019 was in terms of the stability in their batting line up as well as in bowling combination. A promising campaign awaits them if they are to figure it out. But a very tough group stage awaits them as they face HS16, PhD and HS15 who are some of the teams who played very good games in the past. But this year’s format having three group stage matches (compared to two last year) and spread over nearly 10 days might allow HS18 time and space to adapt and improve.
Article by Libin John
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