JAIPUR: Tuesday was a historic day for Rajasthan cricket. For the first time ever, two Rajasthan cricketers donned the India jersey together in an international match. With the team management giving an opportunity to the bench against Afghanistan in an inconsequential ODI for them in the
Asia Cup, the Rajasthan pace duo of
Deepak Chahar
and
Khaleel Ahmed found themselves not only in the playing eleven, but also opening the attack for India.
"This is indeed a historic day for our state," former Ranji captain
Vinod Mathur said. "As such, not many cricketers from Rajasthan have played for India. With two of them playing together today, we cricketers have something to celebrate." While Chahar was making his ODI debut, Khaleel was into his second game, having played against Hong Kong in their Asia Cup opener.
Although Khaleel was in the initial squad for the tournament, Chahar went to Dubai as a replacement for the injured
Hardik Pandya. "It's a lifetime opportunity and I hope I can make it count," Chahar had said before his departure. With India resting
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and
Jasprit Bumrah, the Rajasthan duo was handed the opportunity to "make it count".
Ironically, the day comes at a stage when the game in Rajasthan is struggling. As Mathur pointed out, no domestic cricket has happened here for the past few years. A few months ago, a four-year ban on Rajasthan Cricket Association was withdrawn by the Indian cricket board (BCCI).
More recently, the RCA, under president CP Joshi, was disbanded and an ad-hoc committee was put in place. Selection for the Rajasthan teams for domestic tournaments happen through four-day trials. Hurriedly organised short-duration camps are all that the players get to prepare for the season. "In this backdrop, it is really amazing that two of our players have made the highest grade," Mathur said.
Incidentally, Rajasthan has had one of the best pace attacks in the domestic circuit for the past few years. Spearheaded by
Pankaj Singh (who is playing for Puducherry this season), a number of medium-pacers have been in focus, like Nathu Singh,
Aniket Choudhary, Chahar, Ahmed and Kamlesh Nagarkoti.