IPL fraanchisees eye young Gujarat cricketers

VADODARA: Gujarat might not have its own Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise, but that hasn't stopped its talented cricketers from getting their due recognition. Cricketers from the state are high on the priority list of IPL franchisees despite their eagerness to get hold of experienced as well as international cricketers.
And, guess who is eyeing the untapped talent of the state for preparing their team? Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) owned by Bollywood Badshah Shah Rukh Khan has shown keen interest in youngsters from Gujarat.The team has in fact already picked up three players for this season and is busy grooming them.
In all, KKR has four cricketers from the state and it is planning to take more after the Ranji one-dayers. "We have been picking up talented youngsters from all over the country and Gujarat is also high on our list. There is abundant talent in district areas of this state which is untapped. We will decide on signing more Gujarat players after the Ranji one-dayers," said Makarand Waingankar, head of Talent Research Development Wing (TRDW), KKR.
"I have moved in several areas of Gujarat and found many talented cricketers. It is not without any reason that other IPL franchises too are signing Gujarat cricketers when they can afford to buy more experienced ones," Waingankar said.
KKR signed up three Gujarat cricketers Monish Parmar, Ishwar Chaudhary and Shatrunjay Gaekwad during training camp this season while Saurashtra batsman Cheteshwar Pujara was signed up last year. Rajasthan Royals too has five Gujarat players including Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Sidhharth Trivedi, Neeraj Patel and Munaf Patel.
The other Gujarat players to make it to IPL teams are Irfan Pathan (Kings XI Punjab), Pinal Shah (Mumbai Indians), Parthiv Patel (Chennai Super Kings) and Ajitesh Argal (Kings XI Punjab). "Gujarat does have lot of cricketers who can play important role in IPL teams. And that is the reason why so many youngsters from here are being signed up by various teams," said a senior cricketer associated with Baroda Cricket Association (BCA).