New Delhi, Oct 25 (PTI) Pacer Harshit Rana's presence will certainly be a big boost for Delhi as they aim to put up an improved performance against Assam in a group D encounter of the Ranji Trophy starting Saturday.
While Harshit will walk in place of Navdeep Saini, who has left for India A's tour of Australia, the absence of Ayush Badoni and Anuj Rawat (both playing Emerging Asia Cup in Oman) in batting department will hurt the hosts more as they gun for an outright win against a team which will miss its main player Riyan Parag.
Riyan, now a regular member of Indian T20 team, is currently at the NCA under the supervision of the medical team before he leaves for the four-match tour of South Africa.
The Feroz Shah Kotla track used in their last match was flat, allowing Tamil Nadu to make a mockery of Delhi's bowling attack as they racked up 674 runs in their first innings, securing three points in the process.
Delhi head coach Sarandeep Singh opted for two out-of-rhythm spinners in off-spinner Mayank Rawat and left-arm spinner Harsh Tyagi. In 88 overs between them, they managed to bowl only three maidens, allowing B Sai Sudharsan and Washington Sundar to thrive during the last match.
It will be intriguing to see if Delhi opts for the more talented off-spinner Shivam Sharma and left-arm spinner Sumit Mathur, instead of the out-of-form duo.
Delhi will miss their best spinner Hrithik Shokeen, who is also with India A in Oman.
Delhi skipper Himmat Singh, along with senior players like Jonty Sidhu, must shoulder much of the responsibility in the absence of seasoned players, as only Yash Dhull stood out in the last game. There could be two forced changes, with opener Gagan Vats likely replacing Dhruv Kaushik and Divij Mehra sharing the new ball in place of Pranshu Vijayaran.