Cricketers Niraj, Bhavik, Avi may leave Gujarat this upcoming domestic season.
Are Niraj Patel, Bhavik Thaker and Avi Barot moving out of Gujarat?
Niraj has consulted Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) officials for a possible shift to Assam while Bhavik and Avi turned out for Jharkhand in the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA)-organised pre-season all India Safi Darashah cricket tournament in Bangalore recently.
The 32-year-old Niraj has been the backbone of the Gujarat team for 15 years. Now, he wants to represent Assam in the upcoming first class domestic season.
“Yes, Niraj has consulted me. He was willing to apply for the No Objection Certificate (NOC) which is important for a player to shift from one state to another before the start of any domestic season. Without NOC, a player cannot shift his loyalty,” said Gujarat team head coach Vijay Patel.
The southpaw, Niraj, represented Gujarat in U-16 and U-19 categories before making his first class debut in the 1997-98 season. He is just eight matches away from a century of first-class appearances. In 92 matches, majority for Gujarat (including a few in Duleep Trophy for West Zone) Niraj has scored over 5,000 runs. Insiders feel it would be a huge loss if he leaves Gujarat.
“Along with skipper Parthiv Patel, he has held the Gujarat innings together on numerous occasions. Moreover, he has also donned the captain’s cap whenever Parthiv was away on national duty,” said a source. Niraj had even smashed a double century against Delhi to bail out Gujarat in 2011.
Bhavik, also an experienced middle-order batsman, had donned the Jharkhand jersey during the Darashah tournament. Having scored 3,000 runs in his 55 first class matches for GCA, the 30-year-old was ignored last season. The young Avi Barot, 21, winner of the U-19 India cricketer of the year in 2011, too, played for MS Dhoni’s Jharkhand.
None of the players was available for comment.
“Gujarat did not take part in the KSCA tournament. So, they had asked for permission and played also,” said the head coach. However, their actions are loud and clear. All three want to leave Gujarat because it is not a routine practice where a player from one state turns out for another state in any competitive game. Parthiv Patel was not aware of the development. “I have no clue,” he said.
If the trio leaves, then the number of players, who have left Gujarat in the last three seasons, shall touch five. In the last two years — two pacers —– Harshal Patel joined Haryana while Siddharth Trivedi signed a contract with Saurashtra.
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