UP without representation in Test squad

Lucknow, Nov 30 (UNI) With Mohammad Kaif and Suresh Raina's exclusion from the Test squad for the series against South Africa, Uttar Pradesh suddenly wakes up to harsh reality that it has no representation in the Team India squad for the longer version of the game.

Not long ago, the cricketing talents from Uttar Pradesh were making waves in the national scene with four of state players making to the national side at one time -- a feat which was looked upon in awe by the entire cricket fraternity.

The dominance of UP, which had surpassed Mumbai and Karnataka in recent times, is clearly on the wane.

It is not even a year when the then national chief selector Kiran More, who was here to watch the state side lifting the coveted Ranji Trophy for the first time, was impressed with the young talents being produced by the state and had promised to nurture the budding cricketers at the highest level.

In less than a year, the Test team is without a single player from UP as both Kaif and Raina got the axe.

With left arm pacer R P Singh already out and Piyush Chawla, after having played a lone Test match in March 2006 at Mohali, not getting the selectors' favour again, Team India has no UP player now.

The cricket experts in UP, however, term it as a temporary phase while predicting all these players are young and capable of making come back anytime.

Moreover, Kaif and Raina are already in the one day side and being recalled to test side is not a very far reaching possibility, they argue.

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