Orissa name team for East Zone one-dayers

Niranjan Behera will lead host Orissa in the East Zone One-day Cricket League to be played at Cuttack from February 10 to 18. Orissa Cricket Association secretary Asirbad Behera announced an 18-member state team for the ensuing tournament, which would feature a total of 10 limited over matches among five states. The size of the Orissa team would be reduced to 15 or 16 after a final fitness test on February 10. ‘‘Some of the players in the team are having minor injuries. In order to allow them some time to attain full fitness, we have included a couple of extra players in the team,’’ clarified Behera. Speaking on the team’s chances in the tournament, the OCA secretary said: ‘‘We have a young side with promising all-rounders. The team has prepared well and is hopeful of winning the tournament.’’ Orissa team: Natraj Behera, Bikash Swarup Pati, Niranjan Behera (capt), Rakesh Mohanty, Haladhar Das (wk & vice-capt), Rashmi Ranjan Das, Subit Biswal, Paresh Patel, Biplab Samantaray, Alok Chandra Sahoo, Bibhudutta Panda, Subhrajit Sahoo (wk), Debasis Mohanty, Deepak Behera, Dhiraj Singh, Lagnajit Samal, Santosh Jena, Preetamjeet Das. Coach: Abakash Khatua. Tournament schedule: February 10: Assam vs Jharkhand (Barabati Stadium) and Tripura vs Bengal (Ravenshaw University ground). February 12: Jharkhand vs Bengal (Barabati) and Orissa vs Tripura (Ravenshaw). February 14: Jharkhand vs Orissa (Barabati) and Assam vs Bengal (Ravenshaw). February 16: Orissa vs Assam (Barabati) and Jharkhand vs Tripura (Ravenshaw). February 18: Assam vs Tripura (Ravenshaw) and Orissa vs Bengal (Barabati).