Orissa players attract Knight Riders

IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders conducted a trial to rope in a few players from Orissa for the second edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on today. As many as 22 players from Orissa`s Ranji, under-22 and under-19 teams batted, bowled and fielded in the floodlit trial, which was supervised by Knight Riders official Jaydeep Mukherjee. The aspirants included former India speedster Debasis Mohanty, his Ranji teammates, Basant Mohanty, Bibhudutta Panda (both medium pacers): Niranjan Behera, Paresh Patel (both all-rounders): Alok Sahu, Tukuna Sahu, P R Sinha, Sandip Mulia, Anshuman Gope, Atish Jena and others. According to Orissa Cricket Association secretary Asirbad Behera, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are looking for a few players, mainly all-rounders from the this catchment area. ``They may sign two to three playes from Orissa. The rusults will be known oly after the final trial camp to be held at Kolkata from January 4 to 6,`` he disclosed. The inaugural edition of IPL featured only one player from the state. Haladhar Das was picked by Deccan Chargers but the wicketkeeper-batsman hardly got any chance to show his mettle as the Hyderabad franchise was mostly served by Aussie icon Adam Gilchrist. Das, in fact, signed a three-year contract worth Rs 60 lakh. Clarifying on the speculation that Barabati Stadium may get to stage a few IPL matches, the OCA secretary said ``Knight Riders officials highly praised the facilities of the stadium. But they have nothing to do with the conduct of matches at the venue.``