Vijay Hazare Trophy: Chance for big names to gear up for Australia tour

BENGALURU: Tamil Nadu skipper R Ashwin was toiling away with his off-spinners in one corner of the KSCA 'B' ground on Tuesday. At the opposite end, MS Dhoni was seen warming up, while Delhi's Shikhar Dhawan was busy fine-tuning his craft with a plastic ball on a cement track.
The beehive of activity would have made a casual visitor mistake it for a practice session for an international match.But the trio, along with several other big names in Indian cricket, were preparing for the business end of the Vijay Hazare Trophy that begins on Wednesday.
Given the packed international calendar, these are rare sights in Indian cricket. But the revamped domestic schedule, aimed at providing a platform for players to test themselves before a big tour or event, seems to have served the purpose.
As many as 13 marquee Indian players will be seen in action for the eight teams that have made the knockouts of the limited-overs competition. The six-day schedule will have the Indian team in prime shape, physically at least, for the limited-overs tour of Australia next month. The fact that the tournament is being played with the Kookaburra Turf ball - which is generally used in Australia - would be ideal preparation.
In the first set of quarterfinals on Wednesday, Himachal Pradesh will take on Punjab and Jharkhand square off against Delhi in a high-voltage clash.
While past form will mean for little, Delhi, given the names in their line-up, will start favourites at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Both teams advanced to the quarters with five wins and a lone loss from the league stage.
While Delhi, who have Dhawan and Ishant Sharma in their line-up, can boast of depth and experience, Jharkhand have more than proved their credentials this season, sealing their quarterfinal berths in both the Ranji Trophy and Vijay Hazare tournaments. The focus so far in Vijay Hazare has been Dhoni, but the 34-year-old hasn't really stepped up as mere 109 runs have come off his blade from five innings with a best of 44 at an average of 21.80.