Trivedi in; Pujara to miss first two Ranji matches

Rajkot: Saurashtra will miss the services of of middle order batsman Cheteshwar Pujara for the first two matches of the Ranji Trophy against Orissa and Uttar Pradesh.

Meanwhile, the only change in the previous year`s squad came in the form of medium pacer Siddharth Trevedi, who decided to represent Saurashtra in the current season instead of playing for Gujarat. The 39-year-old Sitanshu Kotak has retained his place, while Sandip Jobanputra missed out, SCA secretary Niranjan Shah announced today. Pujara, who has been the batting mainstay for Saurashtra, is currently undergoing rehabilitation for his injured knee at the NCA (National Cricket Academy) in Bangalore. The batsman`s absence puts an added responsibility on in-form Ravindra Jadeja, who will be expected to deliver with both bat and ball. The bowling department will, however, be spearheaded by Jaydev Unadkat and Siddharth Trivedi. Saurashtra is scheduled to start their campaign against Orissa at Cuttack on November 3. The team will then move to Meerut on November 10 to take on the Uttar Pradesh. Squad: Jaydev Shah (C), Sagar Jogiyani (WK), Chirag Pathak, Sitanshu Kotak, Ravindra Jadeja, Arpit Vasavada, Pratik Mehta, Kamlesh Makwana, Siddharth Trivedi, Jaydev Unadkat, Sandip Maniar, Jayesh Odedara, Nayan Doshi, Sheldon Jackson and Bhushan Chauhan. PTI