Ramesh Powar ruled out of Vijay Hazare Trophy

Ramesh Powar was Mumbai highest wicket-taker in the recently concluded Ranji Trophy, with 27 wickets in nine matches © Getty Images

By CricketCountry Staff 

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Mumbai: Feb 22, 2012

 

As Mumbai takes on Baroda in their first one-day of the Vijay Hazare Trophy at the Wankhede Stadium today, there is bit of bad news that may bring down the morale of the team to a certain extent.

 

Veteran off-spinner; Ramesh Powar has been sidelined from the tournament after failing to recover from a calf muscle strain that he picked up during Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy semi-final against Tamil Nadu last month. 

 

Wicket-keeper batsman Aditya Tare has been included as Powar’s replacement in the squad.

 

When asked whether Powar would return for any of the matches, Mumbai’s captain Ajit Agarkar said, “he is out of the entire tournament as he is not in a condition to play four matches in five days at this juncture. He played a game on Sunday, but wasn’t comfortable.” 

Powar’s absence has led to a revision of strategy in the tournament, which means that both the left-arm spinners Ankeet Chavan and Iqbal Abdulla may find a place in the playing XI. “Since we won’t get Ramesh, who has been an outstanding performer with both bat and ball, we will probably play both Ankeet and Iqbal,” the skipper said. 

There’s even the possibility of playing three seamers. “Keeping in mind the Powerplay which sometimes makes it difficult for spinners, we may pick three seamers for the match, unless the wicket looks to turn square. 

Normally, the Wankhede wicket has enough bounce for the seamers, so we will take a decision tomorrow morning after assessing the wicket,” the new captain told MID DAY yesterday.

Powar has been in good touch both with the bat and the ball in the recently concluded Ranji Trophy. He finished as the highest wicket-taker for Mumbai with 27 wickets in nine games at 35.92.